Fixing A Broken Wing
by cecilia26
Summary: Ever wondered how did Dutchy and Kate's relationship evolve from barely spoken to one another in the first half of season 4 to become close friends in season 4 penultimate episode? This will be my take on that. A series of post-episodes from the curtain close in 4.09 Dutch Courage up until 4.15 Flotsam & Jetsam. Note: this is a revised version of the one posted in SPcom site.
1. Chapter 1

**Fixing A Broken Wing - Chapter 1**

_Disclaimer: Sea Patrol and its characters are property of Channel Nine & McElroys All Media. No infringement was intended by this fanfiction._

_Author Notes: This part is set after 4.09 Dutch Courage episode._

* * *

"This is unbelievable..."

Kate muttered to herself as she saw the line of cars neatly forming in front of her. The normally smooth Captain Cook Highway apparently decided to have a traffic jam today.

After the whole ordeal of the last patrol, she planned to treat herself to a spa in one of the resorts in Palm Cove area, but now, it looked like her plan might go to the drain. When her car only moved few centimetres during the last 15 minutes, she decided that she was going to give up on the whole spa idea and turned back home. Her eyes then scanned the stretch of highway for the nearest exit when suddenly her body was jolted to the front.

_What the hell?_

She had to step hard on the brake to avoid hitting the car in front of her. She then pulled up her hand brake and shut down her engine. She opened the door and went to the back of her car to assess the damage. At the same time the guy in a suit came out from the yellow BMW behind her and sent her an apologetic look. Looking at the damage, she just shook her head and sighed. _Great, just great!_

* * *

"I beg your pardon?" Kate was officially fuming. Her car was currently assessed by the repair centre appointed by the insurance company of the other driver. She just found out that apparently they were not willing to repair her car. She looked at the mechanic in front of her and gave him her best XO's stare. The man started to squirm.

"I'm sorry, Ma'am, but the cost of the repair is the same as the value of the car. You would probably better off buying a new one. So instead of reimbursing the repair, the insurance will give you cash compensation."

Kate still stared hard at the man. She couldn't believe that this shore leave turned out to be very unpleasant. Not only she had never made it to the spa, her car was also not road-worthy and now according to this man, she had to buy a new car? _Unbelievable!_

"X?"

She looked up to find a pair of blue eyes stared at her concernedly. "Dutchy? What are you doing here?"

"Just arranging service for my motor bike... How about you?" He looked back and forth between her and the mechanic, trying to assess the situation. Even in his shore leave, he couldn't turn off his protectiveness towards her, something that baffled him a lot.

"This man just told me that my car was so old that it would be uneconomical to fix it."

"What happened to it anyway?"

"Some bloke in a suit decided to sneeze in a middle of a traffic jam, causing him to let go of the brake and hit the boot of my car."

He looked at her with raised eyebrows. "Sneezed? Seriously?"

"Yup," she simply replied, too annoyed to elaborate any further.

"X, why don't you let me handle this?" He said carefully.

Her angry eyes were now directed at him.

"X, please? This is the least I could do after the last 2 months."

She looked to his pleading eyes and suddenly felt so tired. The last 2 months had finally taken its toll.

She didn't have to say anything. Her whole body language told him that she had accepted his offer.

He then moved in front of the mechanic and straightened his spine. "Mate, what did you say about the Lady's car?"

* * *

"Thanks Dutchy." Kate said as they sat facing each other in one of the outdoor dining table of the local fish and chips shop.

Dylan looked up from his lunch to find her smiling slightly at him. "No worries X."

She then turned her head towards the Esplanade. She couldn't help the sense of melancholy as she observed people enjoying themselves along the Esplanade. Some of them jogged along or walked leisurely on the neatly laid footpath. On the nearby grassed area, women young and old followed their instructor's every move during free Zumba session. Whereas the high-pitch voices of few children indicated their excitement as they played around in the pool. Their life seemed so easy. Unlike hers. She had led a complicated life since childhood and it got even more complicated in the last few years, ever since she walked onto the Hammersley. Now as she and Dutchy had made amends and her professional life turned for the better, her thought came back to her personal life, to the man that had possessed her heart and broke it along the way.

"Don't you like your fish?" Dylan asked curiously as he saw her barely touched her food.

She looked down to her half-eaten barramundi and smiled at him sadly. "I'm just not really hungry."

"You've had enough, have you?" he asked quietly, but she didn't reply.

He always wondered why she could command his attention like no one could. Even though he had been avoiding her like a plague for the last two months, he still couldn't help but pay attention to her; from the way she ran the boarding party to the way she cared for her sailors. The emotions that he saw on her face thus far were mainly anger and annoyance towards him which was understandable given the circumstances. But today was the first time he saw her melancholy expression and he wondered who or what she was thinking about.

He then sighed inwardly. He honestly didn't know what he was doing at the moment. After the Gulf incident, he had promised himself not to care too much about his fellow sailors. If you don't care, then you wouldn't get hurt if something ever happened to them. But here he was, falling to the same trap again. Apparently, his protective instinct ran too deep in his veins.

After a few minutes of silence, he gave up trying to get her to open up to him. He then rose from his seat and pulled his wallet out, ready to go to the counter and pay the bill.

"What do you think you are doing?" Kate raised her eyebrows at him.

"Somebody has to pay the bill." _GOD, does she have to question everything?_

She shook her head at him, "you've helped me enough today, at least let me pay."

"X, my mother raised me better than that. I was the one who suggested us having lunch together. That means I pay for the meals."

She sighed. _What a stubborn man!_She could feel a headache coming and raised her hand to massage her temple.

"Fine."

His lips slowly formed into a full-blown smile. He sensed that to be able to convince Kate McGregor of anything was a massive achievement and he couldn't help himself to feel a tiniest amount of pride. But as she continued to massage her temple, his smile quickly disappeared. He then touched her shoulder softly. "Give me a few minutes to sort this out. After that I'll get you home."

She looked up to find his concerned eyes staring at her again. Too tired to argue, she gave him a small smile and nodded her assent.

_To be continued..._


	2. Chapter 2

**Fixing A Broken Wing - Chapter 2**

_A/N: This chapter is set after 4.10 Rawhide episode and approximately a week after the previous chapter._

* * *

Dylan was looking at his XO worriedly. This was her third shot of vodka already, and judging by the amount of small glasses lined up in front of her, she showed no sign of slowing down.

He had never seen her like this. His XO was always, for the most part that he knew her, in control of her actions. He certainly never envisioned her getting trashed in the middle of the newly opened bar. His gut feeling told him that there must be something that bothered her, but on the other hand, he didn't know her well enough to question her about it. Maybe this was what she always did to unwind, to finally let go of the controlled human being he knew at work.

"You know Dutchy, some men are idiots." Her eyes looked up from her vodka and stared at him with surprisingly sober eyes.

He chuckled. "Am I included in your assessment?"

Her eyes then narrowed at him, as if to assess him on the spot. Most men would look away or started to squirm at her scrutiny, but not him. He welcomed it. No one had ever been bothered to look closely at him, to know him. He guessed that his imposing stature sometimes caused people to give him a wide berth.

"I don't know Dutchy." She finally answered after a few seconds of staring at him. "I hope not. I hate to think that I'm a loser magnet." She smiled sadly and turned her attention back to the shots in front of her.  
_  
Kate McGregor, a loser magnet? Was she serious? Somebody must have broken her heart for her to think that way._

Now it was his turn to scrutinise her. That assumption would explain a lot of things; her melancholy expression during that lunch last week and her attempt to drink away her sorrows now.

_Who was the man responsible though? _

He sighed inwardly_._

_That is none of your business, Dylan! _

He then forced himself to nurse his beer again instead of looking at her. He said to himself that he needed to control his protective instinct towards her. His over protectiveness was the main problem from the very beginning. Now that they had started to mend their working relationship, he didn't want to jeopardise that work-in-progress by being nosy.  
_  
But I can't let her drink to excess either._  
_  
Yes, you can Dylan. She is a grown woman. You just have to make sure that she is safe. _

After reaching that conclusion, he finally could relax a little bit more. He then looked at his surroundings. Bird and Bomber hadn't moved from RO's sides since they came to the bar, undoubtedly trying to make the man feeling better after the whole ordeal with Darryl. 2Dads, Charge and Swain were now playing cards, maybe poker or something else. And the CO was nowhere to be seen.

When he paid his attention back to the woman sitting beside him, she had already finished all the shots in front of her and was about to flag the bartender for more. He then racked his brain for any distraction to delay her ordering more shots for half an hour or so.

"X, why don't we play twenty questions?" He blurted out the first thing that came to his mind.  
_  
20 questions? Dylan, that is so lame!_

Her glassy eyes stared at him for a minute or two and then she started giggling. "You want to play 20 questions when I'm drunk?"

He couldn't help but smiled at her antics. "Well, I don't think you would agree to play this game if you were sober."

"Fine... Bring it on!" Kate replied enthusiastically.

Dylan sighed inwardly as he saw her excited face. _What the hell did I get myself into?_

* * *

After an hour playing the game and another 5 shots later, Kate had finally reached her limit and was now slumped on the bar table. That was when Dylan decided that enough was enough. Time for her to go home. There was one problem though. He didn't know where she lived. But knowing himself, even though he knew the address, he probably would not be able to leave her on her own in her current state. _Dylan, stop it! You are being too protective again!_

"Is she still conscious?" Swain's worried voice from behind him broke his thought.

"I think so." Dylan replied tentatively before shaking her shoulder softly, trying to gauge her reaction.

She groaned in response.

"Come on mate, you both are coming with me. The X could take the spare room and you could sleep on the sofa in the living room if you want."

Hearing Swain's generous offer, he breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks mate. Appreciate that."

Dutchy gave his bag to Swain, then reached for Kate's waist and helped her up to a standing position.

She groaned again in protest. "Where're we going?" she mumbled against his side.

"To Swain's house." He replied while tightening his grip on her waist.

"But what about the game?" Kate tried to hold her head up to look at him, but her head was too heavy.

Both men chuckled slightly at her insistence. "We'll continue later, X."

"Promise?" Her childlike response and the slight vulnerability in her voice made him stopped and tilted her chin up towards him.

He instantly hated what he saw. Gone was the strong woman he knew and newly admired. Her glassy eyes were desperate for him to assure her about the game, as if that was the only thing that held her sanity intact. "I promise." He finally said after a long pause.

She smiled slightly at his response and she let her head slumped back, this time against his chest. He tightened his grip further and walked her slowly to the exit. They could move faster if he carried her on his arms instead, but he wasn't going to risk it. He could justify his action this morning because her feet was stuck in the swamp, but now, with her being intoxicated in the middle of a crowded bar and under Swain's curious gaze, he would not do anything that could possibly ruin her reputation.

* * *

"Blonde or Brunette?"

Dylan rolled his eyes at the question. He couldn't believe that at her half-incapacitated state, she was still determined to continue with the game. He could see in the corner of his eyes that Sally and Swain were both trying to hold back laughter.

He had made a mistake in opening the window of the taxi to let the fresh air in. The fresh air then woke her up and the interrogation began. Well, a drunken kind of interrogation. And it hadn't stopped even as they arrived at Swain's house. Both of them now stood on the hallway, under the amused gaze of the couple.

"Here let me show you her room." Sally finally said.

Dylan smiled at her gratefully and gave Swain a scowl for finding this situation funny. But as Kate took a step forward and her knees buckled, Swain sobered up and reached for Kate's other side. "Come on X. You need to rest."

Kate giggled as a response before her knees buckled for the second time. Dylan finally decided to give up all propriety and lifted her up to his arms instead. As if they had practiced this before, her arms automatically circled around his neck and her head buried in the curve of his neck.

Sally's eyes widened as she was seeing the events unfolded in front of her, but she didn't comment. She just quietly led the way to the guest room, trusting her husband to lock the front door and take care of the bags.

She then opened the door, turned on the light, pulled the bed-cover towards the end of the bed and stepped aside to let Dylan moved towards the bed.

He carefully lowered Kate on to the bed. _Man, this felt so wrong!_

As Kate settled on the bed, Sally took over from Dylan and took off Kate's shoes before covering her with blanket.

Seeing this, Dylan breathed a sigh of relief that the night was almost over. He could feel that today's event started catching up on him.

Both Sally and Dylan then moved back towards the door and Sally turned the lights off. But then, he heard Kate's faint voice called his name.

He shook his head slightly when Sally reached for the light switch once more. Stepping back inside the bedroom, he then knelt on the carpet beside the bed.

"X, you need to get some sleep." He whispered softly while his hands brushed her bangs aside and tucked the strand of her hair behind her ear. As he realised how intimate his gesture was, he quickly pulled his hand away from her. _You are in trouble, Dylan. Big trouble._

"But Dutchy, you haven't answered..."

His lips curved upwards at her whining voice. "Sssshhh... Let's continue next time..."

"That's not fair."

"I know. But both of us are tired." He decided to change tactic. "Why don't you close your eyes for me?" giving her his best smile, he hoped that she would follow his suggestion.

"Okay." Her eyes closed slowly and her breathing started to get more even. But before he had the chance to stand up, she asked him another question. "Dutchy, why he didn't choose me? Why did he choose 'her' instead?"

He froze at the question. He then looked up to Sally's eyes, as if asking for confirmation whether he heard the question correctly. Her sad expression confirmed his hearing.

_Why would any men choose someone else over her? The man must be insane._

"I don't know." He finally answered. He felt anger bubbling in his chest as he realised that he couldn't help her more. However, at the same time, he was glad that he didn't know the identity of the man. Otherwise, he would probably beat him first and ask question later.

"That's too bad." With that simple statement, she finally fell asleep.

* * *

Dylan sat on the sofa in the living room, waiting for Sally to come back down with a blanket. Swain had said good night to him beforehand, mentioning something about bedtime stories for Chloe.

It was a good thing that there would be no more conversation tonight. Frankly speaking, his brain couldn't process anything else at the moment, as it was in full capacity trying to make sense of his feelings regarding tonight's event.  
_  
Was it only 2 months ago when I was introduced to her for the first time? Was it only a week ago when we made amends? Is it possible that my feelings change so quickly?_

He shook his head in frustration.  
_  
Why do I care so much about her? When does her happiness become my priority?_

He needed to get away. Fast. Thinking about this when her door was just few metres away was just dangerous. Not to mention if she remembered any of the things she said tonight, she would probably feel embarrassed and it would ruin everything. It would be better if they let things cool down for a little bit before the next patrol. Then, their interaction could go back to normal.  
_  
Yes. Let's do that. OK, first thing first, I need my bag._

"Dutchy?" Sally looked at him with raised eyebrows. Apparently, in his musing, he had got up from the sofa and walked back and forth in the living room, wearing the carpet.

"Sorry." He grimaced. "Actually, I think I better go home."

"Are you sure?" She looked at him concerned. She knew that the sofa was not the right size, a bit too short for his height, but she thought that he would probably ignore that fact as he looked so tired.

"Yes. I'm sure." He smiled at her concern. _Swain is a very lucky man._

Sally frowned slightly at his stubbornness. But as she remembered his sweetness towards Kate, she finally relented. "Alright then. Your bag is just behind the sofa. And I'm going to call a taxi for you."

"Thanks." He sat back on the sofa and closed his eyes briefly. _Few more minutes Dylan. Few more minutes and this bizarre night will officially end._

_To be continued...  
_


	3. Chapter 3

**Fixing A Broken Wing - Chapter 3**

_A/N: This chapter is set after 4.11 Brotherhood of The Sea episode and approximately 3 weeks after the previous chapter. This is also the start of blossoming friendship between Dylan and Kate and thus one of my favourite chapter of the whole series... :):)_

* * *

"Come on Charge, you promised me before!" 2 Dads was still trying to convince Charge about the whole skydiving idea. They both held their bottles of beer while standing around the BBQ area in Swain's backyard.

"Does it have to be skydiving?" Charge looked at 2Dads doubtfully, "Why couldn't we just go fishing?"

"Where's the fun in that?" said 2Dads incredulously. "We went fishing every shore leave!"

"Charge, if you are _afraid_…." Dylan started to offer his opinion before he was rudely interrupted by the man himself.

"Dutchy... sssshhh…"

Dylan raised his eyebrows at the interruption.

"Do not use that word…" Charge was looking to his left and right to see whether other people overheard the word being said.

"Okay..." He started to grin at the older man's antics. "I'll rephrase then. If you are _worried_..."

"Not that word either…" Charge interrupted again. Swain and 2Dads were now openly laughing at him.

"I like the word _apprehensive_." Charge nodded to himself, as if proud of his choice of word.

"Right…" Dylan's grin grew bigger. But before he could reply or rephrase his sentence, he got another interruption.

"Uncle Dylan?" Dylan looked down to find Chloe was pulling his pant leg to get his attention.

Silence descended on the other three men. Swain felt proud that his daughter was brave enough to approach the relative newcomer of the group. Not to mention that Dutchy had a giant stature.

Dylan crouched down to Chloe's level so that he wasn't scaring the little girl. "Yes Chloe."

"Could you please give me a piggyback?" her brown eyes were pleading him to say yes.

"Chloe, I would love to. But don't you want your Daddy to give you one instead?" he asked her patiently.

"Mummy said that Daddy hurt his back last night. So he can't do a piggyback today." explained Chloe innocently.

2Dads instantly choked on his beer. Charge also snorted loudly. Dylan was trying to keep a straight face, but in the end, he had to bite the inside of his cheek to prevent him from laughing out loud.

Swain was simply mortified by the whole situation. He could feel his cheeks turned bright red.

"If your Daddy said okay, then I'll do that with you." Dylan finally said.

Chloe eyes now turned to her Daddy's. Looking at his daughter's hopeful eyes, Swain instantly forgot his earlier embarrassment. He put his BBQ utensils away and lifted Chloe to his arms, ignoring the twinge on his back. Her arms instantly wrapped around his neck. He closed his eyes briefly, committing this moment to his memory. He then stroked her hair softly and spoke. "I'm sorry I can't give you piggyback today, sweetheart."

"It's okay Daddy…. You are hurt…" Sensing her Daddy's mood, she tightened her grip around his neck and kissed his cheek. "So can I?"

He smiled at her insistence. "Yes, you can. But don't give Uncle Dylan a hard time, okay?"

"YAY!" She lifted her chubby fists to the air. Everybody who heard the exchange between father and daughter couldn't help smiling broadly at their picture-perfect happiness. The good day just got even brighter.

* * *

Dylan was sitting heavily on one of the lawn chairs when he felt something cold on the side of his neck.

"I thought you probably need this..." A small smile graced Kate's face as she offered the cold beer bottle.

"Oh X, you are a lifesaver!" He grabbed the bottle, twisted the cap, and proceeded to take a long sip of the liquid. "Man... this is really good..." He then swiped the liquid that escaped from his lips with the back of his hand. Finally he looked at his XO who was settling on the other chair beside him.

Kate shook her head in amusement seeing the way he drank the beer, as if he had been stranded in the desert for a month. "Satisfied?"

"Very… Thanks X!" Their eyes locked for a few moments before as he expected, she averted her gaze.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Her voice made him followed her line of sight to find a beautiful scene playing out. Swain was pushing the swing that Chloe was in. The little girl was smiling brightly and squealing with delight. She looked back at her Daddy very often, probably to request a stronger push. In the background, Sally was constantly cheering them on. Swain then pulled his wife towards him and together they pushed the swing even higher.

He looked at Kate once again. Her features showed sadness and wistfulness. He wondered why though. Was it because of the man who broke her heart? Did he promise her happily ever after but then left her? At this thought, his fingers involuntarily tightened against his beer bottle.

Kate McGregor had always been a career-driven girl. Everybody knew that. Even Mike knew that. They both loved their career too much, although for a very different reason. Mike loved the sea and his patrol boat, whereas for her, she saw the Navy as the saving grace of her life. Her life with her mother had been a great struggle and by the time she finished high school, she desperately wanted to get away from that bleak town and find a much better life.

She had achieved that. She was a RAN Officer with a bright career ahead. But lately, as she reached her 35th birthday, she had thought about family, husband and kids. It might be just her biological clock ticking loudly, reminding her that she probably had to make a decision soon between having a family and being a career woman. It might also be the fact that she had been in love with Mike for such a long time that she couldn't help thinking about the future; a future that so far had been pretty uncertain and might not be possible anymore after that dreadful 'coffee' conversation.

She was angry at Mike, for his damn dedication to his boat and for never telling her what she actually meant to him. She was also angry at herself, for not having the courage to move on from him after years of heartache. But as she contemplated the sight of Swain's family in front of her, she decided that she had had enough of being angry. She might never have a family of her own. She might never get over Mike, but one thing she knew for sure, she would not wait for him any more. Life was too short to wait for 'Prince Charming' to finally get on his horse and rescue her from this whole mess of a relationship.

She felt much better after reaching that liberating conclusion. She finally decided to tear her eyes away from Swain's family and look back to the man sitting beside her; a man that, according to Sally, she owed a lot after the whole drunken episode a few weeks ago.

She turned her head towards him and found that he was looking at her strangely. His current look was similar to the one he had in their earlier interaction in Hammersley; a scowl with a touch of anger which was evident by his tight grip on his beer bottle. _What did I do?_

"Dutchy?" She called his name tentatively.

"Huh?" Dylan looked into her eyes again. Gone was the sadness and wistfulness in there. It was now replaced by steely determination. _Good on you X._

"That beer must be warm now. You've been gripping that bottle so tightly." She brushed aside her earlier confusion and instead focused on distracting him from whatever he was thinking before.

"Oh…" He loosened his grip straight away, not realising that he did it in the first place.

"What? No smart remarks?" she pretended to be surprised about his quietness. "Hmm... I didn't know that a 3 and a half-year-old girl could make you tired so easily. Are you sure you didn't hurt your back as well?" she added cheekily.

Silence enveloping them after her words. He could not believe his ears. This was the first time that he didn't have to rake his brain to keep the conversation flowing between them. Kate McGregor finally initiated a casual conversation with him, using a joke nonetheless.

Kate started to squirm at his silence. _Was I out of the line? Too friendly? I wish they invent a book of 'How to initiate a casual conversation with Petty Officer Mulholland without embarrassing yourself guide'. That would be handy!_

She finally had enough of the silence and stood up from her chair. But before she had the chance to go anywhere, he finally found his voice again.

"Where are you going?" he looked at her confused.

"I thought you were ignoring me." She replied while folding her arms in front of her chest and raising her eyebrows at him.

He didn't answer. He just tapped her seat and flicked his head towards it, silently inviting her to sit beside him again.

"So, blonde or brunette?" said Kate after she settled on the chair for the second time.

Dylan froze. _Oh Crap! _"You remembered?" _Please say that you don't._If she remembered that he carried her to the bedroom and the whole bizarre conversation after that, it was a great surprise that she hadn't killed him yet.

She smiled at his 'deer caught in the headlights' expression. "I remember getting out of the taxi and asking you that question, but after that, it was a bit of a blur." She scrunched her forehead annoyed. "Sally filled me in a little bit the next morning, but my head was so sore that I didn't really pay attention to what she said."

Dylan released his breath that he didn't realise had been holding. "Vodka would do that to you."

She cringed. "How many shots did I end up having?"

"Too many." He replied simply.

"Thank you." said Kate quietly. Their eyes met again, but this time, no one averted their gaze.

"For what?"

"For caring." She replied. "If there was one thing that I remembered from the conversation with Sally that morning was that you were the one that helped me that night. The one who looked so worried while in the contrary, she and her 'dear husband' were apparently a little bit amused by my behaviour. Not that I blamed them of course." She smiled wryly.

"No worries X." He gave her a bone-melting smile. The kind of smile he gave her that night to coax her to sleep, not that she remembered of course.  
_  
Damn! What a gorgeous smile! _

_Hold on a second... Did I just acknowledge that?_

Kate could feel a tell-tale sign of a blush coming, but she still couldn't look away. He looked amused by her reaction, but mercifully broke their gaze first, as if he knew that she couldn't bring herself to do just that.

She shook her head softly to get rid of the smile-induced-cobweb in her head. _Kate, you need to get a grip! It's just a smile. A beautiful one though... Oh shush!_

"Are you alright now?" asked Dylan seriously.

"What do you mean?" she looked up alarmed. _Please tell me he couldn't read my mind just before._

"That night you were upset about something, that was why you drank excessively." He chuckled humourlessly. "I know that it was none of my business. But whatever that was, are you still upset about it?" He tilted his head towards her, waiting patiently for her answer.

She was surprised by the caring that she saw in his eyes at the moment. If she still had any doubt about Sally's assessment towards the man in front of her, which she didn't, that doubt would have dissipated very quickly. There was one thing that she had learned over the years. Lips could lie, but eyes couldn't.

"I'm not." She finally replied with a small smile.

"Yeah?" he raised his eyebrows questioningly.

"Definitely." She said with finality in her voice. She then decided to elaborate further for his sake. She had a feeling that he probably would not be satisfied with her one-worded answers. "It will take me a while to completely get over it. But I will, eventually."

"Good for you." With that statement, Dylan knew that this subject was officially closed. But before he got the chance to relax, she had opened another line of conversation.

"You know, you actually haven't answered my question before." Kate narrowed her eyes at him, slightly annoyed that he had been avoiding that particular question.

He groaned inwardly at her insistence._ What a stubborn woman!_

"I'm not going to answer that question!"

"Why not?"

He sighed. "Because... with all due respect X, you have blonde hair!"

"So you are afraid that I would be offended if you said that you prefer brunette?" she looked at him incredulously.

"No! I was afraid that if I said 'blonde', you would quote the whole fraternisation rule again to me." He openly chuckled at her now, remembering the whole incident in that tiny boat.

"Oh shut up!" His XO looked ready to whack him on the spot. "Seriously Dutchy, do you really have to bring that up again?"

"Sorry... I just can't resist." He smiled broadly at her, but he quickly realised that instead of smiling with him, she was actually scowling.

"Do you really want to know the answer?" he changed his seating position so that his whole body was facing her. He then leaned closer towards her, while looking at her seriously.

Too annoyed to reply, she only shrugged her shoulder.

"Blonde, brunette, red haired, black haired, it doesn't matter to me." He smiled at her surprised face. "Girls can change their hair as quickly as their clothes. Heck, even nowadays you can change your eye colour by wearing contact lenses."

He leaned even closer to her, making her heartbeat quickened involuntarily. "What makes a woman tick for me is this." He touched her temple softly. "And most importantly, what's in here." He softly touched the area just below her left collarbone. His finger then lingered in the area just a bit longer than appropriate. Their eyes met again, blue collided with green. But seeing her wide pupil staring at him, realisation dawn on him of what he was actually doing. He then removed his finger quickly as if it was being burned and leaned back to create wider space between them.  
_  
What the hell was that Dylan? She's your boss!_

Awkward silence descended on them once again. They avoided looking at each other. Dylan looked to the BBQ area once again and Kate looked to the ground. He finally couldn't stand it anymore. He got up and started to walk back and forth around both of their chairs.

Her face softened seeing his distressed face. _He thought that I would be angry at him. _

"Dutchy?" In his musing, he didn't hear her. He kept doing what he was doing before, wearing the grass. "Dutchy!"

"What?" he answered a little too loudly, earning a raised eyebrow from Kate.

He finally stopped his movements and sat back on his chair, resignedly waiting for his punishment. "I'm sorry."

"For being honest in answering my question?"

"For being inappropriate." He countered seriously, referring to his touches before.

"Right..." She stared at his apologetic face for a while before she spoke again. "I think that we should just forget about that." _Yeah right. As if I could forget. My skin is still tingling from his touch._

"X?" He was relieved that she apparently wouldn't pursue this matter further, but at the same time, he couldn't help but feeling a little disappointment that she didn't seem to be affected by his touch.

She smiled at his hesitation. "I think it's your turn to ask question now."

At first he was stunned at her diversion tactic, but then his lips quickly formed a grin. "You better be prepared then. This would be a hard one."

She rolled her eyes at him. "Bring it on!"

* * *

"There you go X, home sweet home."

They had spent the rest of the afternoon throwing questions to each other about anything; from the easy question about favourite movies to the hard one involving JFK's conspiracy theory. Before they knew it, they were the only one left in the backyard.

After helping Sally and Swain with the clean up, Dylan then offered her a lift home, partly because he wanted to make sure that she got home safely, but he guessed the bigger reason was that he simply didn't want their time together to end.

Kate climbed down from the bike and gave her helmet back to him. "Well, this is it then."

"Yeah...I guess I'll see you in a week? Unless we've been crashed sailed of course." _I hope we can see each other sooner than that._

She nodded. "Yes. A week." She strangely felt disappointed that their conversation had to end.

"That was fun before..." _What are you doing Kate? Let the man go home! For all you know, he might be bored to death with your chatter._

He felt hope soaring in his chest. "Would you like to continue some other time?" _Please say yes!_

She looked up to find his hopeful eyes staring at her. "I would love that."

He smiled broadly at her. He then decided to tempt fate once more.

"How about tomorrow?" _Man, I sound so desperate! _"I know a good breakfast place around here."

Kate shook her head amused at his insistence. At the same time, a battle was raging inside her mind. Her responsible self reminded her that the man in front of her was her colleague and her direct subordinate. It was one thing to interact with him so candidly in front of Hammersley family, but to have a private conversation in public place, where there might be other navy personnel and higher-ups hanging around sounded too risky. On the other hand, she really enjoyed their conversation this afternoon. It was good to just forget the complication in her life and focused on the things that made her happy. She also found out that Dutchy was good at distracting her from whatever cloud hanging around her head and made her laugh. She hadn't had a good laugh for a very long time. And to be honest, she was looking forward to feel that way again.

"Macadamia."

"Huh?" He looked at her confused. Her previous silence made him anxious and he had started to tap his bike's handle unconsciously.

"Macadamia pancakes. It is my favourite breakfast." She stated simply.

"Right..." He couldn't help but grinned stupidly at her. "I'll pick you up at 8 am tomorrow?"

His grin was infectious as she felt that her lips involuntarily curved up. "Sounds good."

"Good night X."

"Good night Dutchy."

_To be continued..._


	4. Chapter 4

**Fixing A Broken Wing - Chapter 4**

_A/N: This part is set the day after the previous part. Would their breakfast go as planned? :):)_

* * *

Kate scowled at the toilet bowl in front of her. She wondered why the customary colour had to be white. Why couldn't it be a darker colour?

_Kate, you are losing your mind! You need to focus!_

She forced her brain to focus on the sensation on her stomach.

_Not too queasy anymore. That's good. _

She then tried to stand up. She realised too late that it was a big mistake, her stomach protested against her body's movement, and for the next 10 minutes, her view was limited to the white toilet bowl once again.

She had been doing this since she woke up an hour ago. For the life of her, she couldn't figure out what she ate at yesterday's BBQ that caused her to throw up all her stomach's contents.

_Must be a bad piece of sausage!_

She groaned softly at the contraction of her stomach muscle. Her throat was killing her as well. Not to mention that her head was pounding. This was supposed to be a good day, started with a nice breakfast with Dutchy.  
_  
Oh NO! What time is it?_

She quickly lifted her head to see the wall clock hanging on the corner. The sudden movement almost made her throw up again. But she swallowed the bile down and focused on the clock.

7.58 am.  
_  
Where's my phone?_

With great effort, she managed to stand. She then held on to the wall and walked slowly to the bedroom. But before she got the chance to reach her bedside table, her doorbell rang.

* * *

Dylan couldn't fall asleep again. He was woken up by a mini earthquake caused by the construction site next door. He couldn't help but blamed the government for deciding to build community housing next to his apartment. Not that he objected to any kind of government project, but to start using heavy machinery at 6 am in the morning was just a bit much in his opinion.

He groaned when he felt another 'mini earthquake' shook his bedroom. _Better get up then._

He freed up the blanket that was tangled around his legs and swung his body to the side. He then got up and walked barefoot to the kitchen, while running his fingers through his hair in an attempt to wake up even further.

One cup of coffee later, he felt much better.

6.30 am.

He sighed. It was too early to get ready and go to Kate's house. What was he supposed to do for an hour? _Running?_ _Maybe swimming? _

Meanwhile, his eyes stumbled upon a packet on his kitchen bench. _Roasted Macadamia_. He smiled at the memory of her mentioning macadamia pancakes.

_That's it!_

He forgot whether his usual breakfast place had macadamia pancakes on its menu or not. He needed to check it out first. If worst case scenario happened, then he had to find a place that served that particular dish.

With a clear goal in mind, he then marched off to the bathroom and jumped to the shower.

An hour and twenty minutes later, he arrived in front of her house. Even with all the time he spent searching a specific pancakes establishment, he still made it ten minutes early.

He then turned off his bike's engine, stored his helmet and walked up to the front step. Sitting down there with ten minutes to spare, he started to get anxious. What if she changed her mind? What if she thought that the breakfast was a bad idea?

_Calm down Dylan, you will find out the answer in a few minutes anyway!_

His watch beeped softly, signalling to him that time was up.

_This is it Dylan._

He took a deep breath, and pressed the bell button.

* * *

After the doorbell rang, Kate went back to the bathroom again. She then grabbed the edges of the wash basin tightly with her left hand to help her standing up while her right hand splashed some water to her face. She didn't dare to look at her reflection on the mirror. She knew that she looked frightening. Maybe she should just call him now and send him away?

_No! That would be rude Kate! He's standing outside your door now._

She grabbed the towel and wiped her wet face with it. Taking a deep breath, she then started to move outside her bedroom, then down the stairs towards the front door.

* * *

Dylan was confused. It had been 10 minutes since he rang the doorbell and the only answer was silence.

_Did she forget?_

He was toying with the idea of calling her, but decided against it.

_What if she is still asleep? You are going to wake her up Dylan!_

He also ignored the impulse to walk back and forth, a bad habit he did when he was thinking hard. Instead, he focused his thought on the current situation. She wouldn't forget. Kate McGregor was simply too organise to forget an appointment.

_What if she fell in the bathroom or something?_

He couldn't help himself, he started pacing.

_Dylan, stop it! You are being unreasonable! For Godsake, just rang the doorbell again!_

In his musing, he didn't hear the door being opened. Kate was leaning heavily against the door frame, trying to stay upright. The 5-minute-journey from her bedroom felt like an hour. And now seeing Dylan pacing on her terrace, her head was spinning once more.

"Dutchy." She only managed to croak his name. Her throat was just so raw from all the dry heaves.

She could feel all the energy left her body at that very moment. She went down on her knees.

* * *

A loud thud from the doorway broke Dylan's thought. He quickly turned around and gasped. A few steps were all it took for him to reach her side. With no hesitation, he lifted her up in his arms. When she didn't protest, he knew that she must be really sick.

"Where to, X?"

"Bathroom. Inside the bedroom. Upstairs and then turn right," she whispered softly. She had to close her mouth with her hand to prevent herself from throwing up on him.

Once he reached the bathroom, he lowered her gently on the tiled floor. She then instantly reached the toilet bowl once again.

Embarrassed and frustrated at her current situation, she could feel her eyes sting. She didn't want to look at him, afraid of pity in his eyes. But then she felt something cold at the back of her neck, and a finger pushing her hair back from her face.

"Feeling better?" Dylan asked tentatively. His left hand was still holding the damp washcloth in an attempt to soothe her.

"I don't know." She finally lifted her eyes to look at him. Those caring pair of eyes almost broke down her defences. She had to blink her eyes several times to prevent her tears from escaping.

"Come on X. You just need a little bit of mouthwash and you can go back to bed." He moved behind her and reached for her waist, attempting to lift her up with him to a standing position.

"Dutchy... I can do that myself." She protested weakly.

"I know you can." He ignored her protest and proceeded with his plan before. Once they reached the wash basin, he let her stood on her own while he opened the bathroom cabinet to look for mouthwash. She gripped the edges of the basin tightly while her eyes followed his movement.

"Either you don't have a mouthwash or you've hide it from me, X." He said after looking for the bottle throughout the entire cabinet.

"Maybe I'm running out." She scrunched her forehead trying to remember.

Seeing her face getting paler and paler, he gave up his search and reached for her again. This time she didn't protest, which concerned him even more. After what seemed like an eternity, she was back safely in her bed.

"Do you have any bucket or something like that?"

"In the kitchen."

Five minutes later and a bucket on his hand, he was back in her room. He then knelt down on the carpet to be on her eye level. He couldn't help but feeling a sense of déjà vu while doing this. He knelt next to her bed that night in Swain's house too. As the memory assaulted his brain, he had to curl his hand to a fist to prevent him brushing her bangs to the side just like what he did that night.

"I'll go and buy the mouthwash for you. Do you need anything else? Crackers?" he finally said after a few minutes of silence.

She shook her head while burying it deeper to the pillow. "Can't eat."

He smiled softly at her almost childlike behaviour at the moment. He felt strangely privileged to witness this. Normally people only got to see the strong side of her, but he got to experience this side of Kate McGregor twice. To be honest, he hoped that he could experience this more often. With that thought in mind, he closed the bedroom door behind him.

* * *

"Dutchy?"

Dylan turned his head around to see Charge holding an identical shopping basket. He smiled at the older man. "Mate, how are you doing?"

"Yeah, not too bad. I ran out of Tim Tams this morning though, not a good start to the day let me tell you. I've re-stocked now, so I'm good." Charge smiled broadly while showing Dylan the stack of Tim Tams in his basket. He then looked curiously to the other man's basket. "Mate, that doesn't look too appealing to me," referring to the basket full of plain crackers, bread, few different brands of soups and mouthwash.

Still slightly taken aback by the other man's apparent addiction to Tim Tams, Dylan was silent for a minute or two. His silence made Charge looked at him concerned. "You're not sick, are you?"

"No, it's my flatmate. I think she has stomach bug." _Crap! Did I say 'she'?_

"She?" Charge started to grin. "Let me guess. Blonde and legs a mile long?"

Dylan shook his head amusedly. _If only you knew who my 'flatmate' was... _"None of your business mate." He said while tapping Charge's shoulder firmly. "See you later hey..."

Walking out of the aisle, Dylan took a second to review the content of his basket. _Charge is right. It doesn't look appealing at all._His eyes then looked around for the chocolate aisle. After grabbing a few of the sweet treats, he then moved towards the checkout.

* * *

"X."

"Hmm..." Kate buried her head even deeper in the pillow, trying to ignore Dylan's voice.

"Wake up. Time to fill that empty stomach of yours. Look what I've got for you." Dylan put the tray on the bedside table, once again kneeling on the carpet.

"Don't want to..."

He couldn't help but smile at the whine in her voice. When she still ignored him, he tried a different tactic. "Well, if you don't want the food, that's too bad. Since you owed me breakfast and I'm hungry, I think I'll just eat your macadamia chocolate." As he predicted, her ears perked at the word macadamia, and slowly, she opened her eyes.

"You have macadamia chocolate?" She got up slowly from her bed, careful not to make any sudden movement that could cause her nausea to come back.

"Yup. I have a lot of different stuff here too. I don't know what you feel like, so I put a little bit of everything on."

Looking at the tray on her bedside table, she didn't know what to say. This man had definitely gone above and beyond in trying to take care of her. Pot of tea with separate milk and sugar, different type of crackers in small containers, a small bowl of soup, a piece of toast, few squares of macadamia chocolate, and he didn't even forget the small glass of mouthwash. Her eyes stung again and her throat also closed up.

Her silence made him worried. _Is she sick again?_

"Thank you." She finally could form the words after a few minutes.

He smiled softly seeing her watery eyes. "Don't thank me yet. All this food might not be the right choice." He then grabbed the mouthwash and held it towards her. "Why don't you do use this first? It will help to get rid of the bitter taste in your mouth."

She took the small glass from his hand and looked at the blue liquid in front of her.

"This, then the chocolate?" she looked at his eyes questioningly.

"Tea and crackers first", he countered seriously.

"Then the chocolate?" she insisted.

He nodded and grinned at her. "Only one square though."

"Deal."

* * *

"You're still here."

Dylan turned his head towards her voice to see her standing on the bottom step of the stairs. "Hey X, how are you feeling?"

"No more headache." She smiled softly and started to move slowly to the couch.

"How about your stomach?" his eyes followed her movement, ready to intercept if she showed sign of her previous shakiness.

"Not queasy anymore." She finally reached her couch and sat down on it gratefully.

After her late breakfast this morning, which thankfully she could retain in her stomach, she had slept again. She only woke up a few minutes ago to find that she had slept for more than 10 hours; which was an amazing feat, considering that her body clock was so tuned to the Navy life that often required limited sleep.

"Did you go home at all?" she looked at the man besides her quizzically.

"I did for a few hours. I did laundry and housework." He shrugged. He tried to stay longer at his apartment, but his mind kept coming back to her. As his thoughts about the scenarios involving her needing his help went from bad to worse, he finally got fed up and went back to her place. Thank GOD that he didn't forget to borrow her key beforehand so he didn't have to wake her up again.

After that, he had gone out a couple more times. The first was to grab his mail from his post office box. He smiled when he remembered his mum's letter today. Still old-fashioned, she refused to use emails and text message, preferring to call him or to write letter. As usual, she nagged him about his apparent lack of long-term girlfriend, told him about his dad's latest adventure as a butcher in the local market and her newest hobby, crocheting. She even sent him a sample of a baby bootie, another hint for him to get his butt into gear and find a suitable woman.

The second trip had him going to the pancake place to buy that sacred macadamia pancake, just in case Kate felt better tonight. He kept surprising himself of how far he would go to please the woman sitting beside him; as if his happiness was depending on it. _Why did I do that?_He had pondered that question for the rest of the afternoon, but he still couldn't find the answer. All he knew was that he cared about her. But in what capacity? He didn't know. YET.

Deciding to forget his worry for a while, he looked at her again. "Do you feel like eating?"

"Why? Don't tell me you have a hidden tray full of crackers around here somewhere?" she raised her eyebrow at him.

He chuckled. "Nope. I have something better than that."

* * *

"There you go X. Chefs special."

Once again he appeared with a tray in his hands. He then put it carefully on her lap. She looked up from the tray to him in disbelief.

"Dutchy, you are spoiling me!"

He smirked. "Well, don't get use to it. Enjoy it while it lasts."

Shaking her head amused at his words, she looked at her tray once again. One pancake, which she assumed was macadamia, one small scoop of chocolate ice cream, 2 tiny containers of maple syrup and honey and a glass of water.

Silent enveloped them as she slowly ate her pancake. Her eyes looked at the TV every once in a while. It looked like a sitcom of some sorts, about 2 adult men and a teenage boy. One of the men seemed to be a playboy, the other one a bit of the unsecure type, and the boy was simply the lazy type.

"Do you watch this often?"

"Not really. Do you want to watch something else?" he just realised that he had been monopolising her TV for a while now.

"I don't even know what is on tonight." She shrugged. After putting her tray on the coffee table, she relaxed back to her couch. Although she felt no headache, but her head was a bit heavy, probably from having too much sleep today.

"Well, there is going to be a re-run of the first Terminator movie in about 10 minutes."

"Your favourite." She stated, remembering their conversation yesterday.  
_  
She remembered._"Have you ever watched that?"

"Nope. But there is always the first time."

* * *

"So... This John Connor guy, who is he?" Kate scrunched her forehead trying to figure out the plot.

"He is the future leader of human resistance against the machine." His automatic answer made her lips curved up.

"Right... So he sent one of his best soldiers, Carl Reese, back to the past to protect his mother from being killed by this Terminator guy?"

"Not bad X."

"Let me guess... This Reese bloke is actually John's father."

He groaned. "Now you just ruined my fun."

"How can you say I ruined your fun? You knew the story already." She looked at him incredulously.

"It's just that... Never mind." He sighed. He supposed that he wanted her to just enjoy the movie and digested the plot as it came along. But he should have known that she was not the type to do that. She treated the complicated plot as a challenge, like a puzzle or mystery that needed to be solved. It was similar to the way she probed his defences and picked his brain apart in her effort to figure him out for the first two months on the Hammersley.

"I should've just kept the conclusion to myself, shouldn't I?" She sensed that he was still a little bit annoyed at her because of the plot guessing.

He chuckled. "Sometimes, I think you're too smart for your own good."

"Well... I figured out 'The Matrix' plot after only watching it once and that movie was way more complicated than this. What do you expect?"

"So you're into 'Follow the white rabbit' stuff hey?" he smirked at her.

"I'm more into 'Blue pill or red pill' stuff actually." She countered smartly.

After holding their gaze for a while, they finally smiled at each other, agreeing silently to end their mini bickering session.

"Do you know why I love this movie?" he looked at her seriously. She shook her head softly.

"It was the concept of going back to the past to protect someone or to prevent something bad from happening to them." He smiled wryly.

"Is this because of the Gulf incident?" she asked carefully.

"That was one of them. But that wasn't the first time I failed to protect someone or something."

"Dutchy..." She looked at him worriedly.

"The first time was my dog. It got trapped in the flooding river during the big flood in Hunter Valley. My Dad held me tight, preventing me to run and save it from drowning. I was 7."

His eyes was not looking to the TV anymore, instead it was fixated to the big poster window in the dining room. Sensing his sadness, she reached out and held his hand tightly, silently offering her support. He didn't turn his face towards her, instead, he just squeezed her hand back as an acknowledgement.

"Then there was my cousin. He lost both of his legs in a farming incident while he was holidaying on my farm. I was 15. He just wanted to see how the tractor worked. I guess he got more than what he bargained for."

"And then the Gulf." He paused and looked back at her. "I wished I could go back and change something on those days. Maybe I should've locked my dog inside the house, instead of letting it play outside. Maybe I should've asked my dad's permission first instead of taking off with one of his heavy machinery and trying to show off my skill to my cousin. Maybe I should've stood beside my boarding officer throughout that boarding instead of following his order to check the wheelhouse of that fishing vessel..."

"Dutchy, I've said this to you before and I'm going to say this again. You saved the life of six sailors on that day. Six people who were able to go home to see their family again. You should never ever discount that achievement." She squeezed his hand even tighter, trying to get him to really let this regret business go. "No matter how good you are as a sailor, you could never save them all."

"I know that X." He smiled at her sadly. "But I guess I would never stop trying to do that."

"Even if it costs you your life?"

"Yes." He answered it without a hint of hesitation.

Before Kate could think of any reply to his blunt statement, his phone rang on the coffee table. She could also hear her phone ringing on the distance. Both sighed at the same time, knowing that the only possible caller at this hour would be their jobs. Reluctantly, they let go of each other's hands.

_To be continued..._


	5. Chapter 5

**Fixing a Broken Wing - Chapter 5**

_A/N: This chapter was originally divided into 2 chapters. But, as an apology for not updating a lot sooner, I've decided to combine the two chapters to one massive chapter. There were more revisions in this chapter than the previous ones. I previously received criticism from the readers in about the IC-ness of the characters in this chapter, so I really wanted to fix that. Hopefully, I've achieved my goal. Please let me know what you think._

_This is set after episode 4.12. Rumble in The Jungle._

_Also, to** D/K fan**, whose review I can't reply with PM, Thank you for your effort in finding this story, as for more cute little moments between D/K, you'll see more of those in future chapters, although not so much in this one..._

* * *

"How's your head?"

Dylan turned to his left to find his XO was leaning on the railing alongside him. "Just a little bump." He replied and smiled softly at the concern he could hear in her voice. "I have a hard head."

Kate rolled her eyes at his typical answer. "What did Swain say about that?"

"Swain's main concern was the injured boy." He shrugged. "I'm fine. This is not the first one and won't be the last."

"If you say so..." Kate finally relented after staring at him for few minutes looking for any sign of pain or soreness. "Do you want to go to hospital to see Bird?"

"Definitely. I need to write my report first though." He looked at her questioningly. "Do you want to go first?"

"Na.. I'll wait." She glanced at her watch. "Is an hour enough for you?"

He smirked. "X, I'm not writing an essay."

She huffed. "See you in an hour then."

"Will do."

* * *

Jessica Bird stared hard at the plate in front of her, wiling this awful-looking porridge to disappear. She played with the spoon as well, wondering whether she was supposed to risk eating this meal.

"If you stared any harder, the plate might break, and the poor nurse would have to clean the mess."

As she lifted her eyes from her plate and saw who the voice belonged to, her eyes instantly brightened. "Dutchy!"

"Hey... How's my favourite gap girl?" Dylan smiled broadly at her. Bird's innocence and wide-eyed enthusiasm never failed to remind him of the early days of his Navy life before the reality of the job set in; the reality that had jaded his soul.

"X!" Bird's smile got even bigger when Kate had decided to step inside the room, preventing him from contemplating his past any further.

"How are you, Bird?" Kate greeted the young sailor warmly.

"Not too bad. The doctor gave me permission to eat. But look at what they gave me!" Bird gestured to the plate in front of her once again.

"So that was why you were looking like you were ready to murder the plate?" Dylan smirked.

"Dutchy..." Kate chastised the man softly, knowing too well the horrible taste of hospital food.

"If you think I'm being a baby about this, why don't you try it yourself?" Bird's lips formed a pout at Dylan's teasing.

"I would, but in one condition. If I try it and it tastes good, you have to eat it." His smirk grew even bigger at the challenge.

"Deal!"

Kate could only shake her head at their antics. _Kids!_

Dylan moved to sit on the side of her bed and reached for the spoon. He then dunked the spoon to the porridge, blew the hot liquid and ate it.

_What the hell? They call this 'food'?_

He swallowed the porridge quickly and forced his lips to form a smile. "It's really good! Try it!"

Bird looked at him suspiciously. "Really?"

Giving her his best smile, he dunked the spoon once again to the porridge, blew it and held the spoon in front of her mouth. "Come on, Bird. You have to hold up your end of the bargain."

"The quicker you eat the porridge, the quicker you can get better." Kate added from the other side of the bed.

Looking at the two people that she trusted the most on the ship, Bird finally relented. She closed her mouth around the spoon and chewed the porridge carefully. Dylan and Kate held their breath waiting for her reaction.

"It tastes all right." Bird finally said after a few seconds.

Inwardly, both of them breathed a sigh of relief.

"Then what are you waiting for. Dig in!" Dylan gave back the spoon to her and sat up straighter with a big smile on his face.

Bird couldn't help but smiled back at him. "So, what did I miss when I was in the hospital?" She asked with her trademark doe-eyes staring at them.

"Well..." Dylan and Kate looked at each other briefly before finally Kate gave him a small nod. "There was sort of a hide and seek in the jungle..."

* * *

They were walking through the hospital corridor to find their way out, when Kate asked the question curiously. "Did it really taste that good?"

Dylan smirked. "What do you think, X?"

She smirked back. "I think you were lying."

"Gee, X, that really hurts!" He mockingly put his hand on his left chest as if her words really hurt him.

"No hospital food can taste that good!" She rolled her eyes at his gesture.

"Of course not. The food in the Gulf hospital actually tasted better than that porridge."

"I'm glad you didn't feed me stuff like that when I was sick." She looked up at him with grateful eyes.

He smiled back softly at her, remembering that day. "How's your stomach?"

"Dutchy, that was three days ago!" She said incredulously.

"I know. But with the whole thing that happened in the jungle, I forgot to ask you about that."

Her eyes softened seeing his caring eyes once again. "It's fine. No more queasiness."

"That's good." Realising that they had reached the hospital's main entrance, he pushed the door and held it opened for her. "After you, X."

* * *

"So, how's your car?"

Her head turned to him at the question. They were sharing a cab to go to their respective homes since both were in the same direction, only 20 minutes apart.

"They gave it back to me a week ago, but it turned out that the boot was still leaking. Imagine coming home from the supermarket to find all your groceries inside the boot soaking wet from all the rain on the way home."

"Ouch..." he grimaced.

"Exactly. Long story short, I gave it back to them, told them to fix it properly, or else."

"Or your big friend will come and haunt them?" He raised his eyebrows at her.

"I didn't exactly say that. But I guess they still remember you." She smiled in amusement remembering the way he threatened the mechanic with bodily harm.

"Well, glad I could help." He shrugged indifferently.

Silence descended on them. Only the sound of the car engine humming could be heard. Kate looked down to her hands on her lap while Dylan looked outside to the crowds on the pier and in front of the cinema. _Wonder what movies are playing? _He looked around to find the billboard that usually hung on the corner of the cinema. His eyes instantly lightened up at the content of the billboard.

"X, are you planning on going anywhere tonight?"

"No. Why?" Her lips curved upward involuntarily hearing the excitement in his voice.

"Do you want to watch movie with me?"

* * *

"So, what is this movie all about?"

Dylan turned his head from the screen on top of the ticket counter to the woman standing beside him. To be honest, if not for the need to find the ticket information on that screen, he would much rather look at her. He didn't know why, but to him, she looked extraordinary beautiful tonight.

_Beautiful? Dylan, what are you thinking? She is not your date!_

"Dutchy?"

_See, she didn't even call you by your first name! Wake up and smell the coffee, Dylan!_

"Earth to Dutchy..." Kate looked at him amusedly. But seeing that he was still staring at her with a hardened expression, she started to get worried. When the person behind the ticket counter waved at them to move forward, she grasped his hands and pulled him to the counter.

"2 Adults for Prince of Persia." Seeing that the man beside him still in some sort of trance, she quickly grabbed her purse from inside the bag and paid for the tickets before he had the chance to be a gentleman and insisted on taking care of everything.

"You know, I can walk by myself..." Dylan stated amusedly when she still held his hand after moving away from the ticket counter. She blushed and loosened her grasp. He smiled sadly at her before he squeezed her hand one last time and reluctantly let go._ I wish I would never have to let go. _

"Are you alright?" She looked at him curiously. "You seem awfully quiet tonight."

"Yeah. Just realising something."

"About?"  
_  
About the fact that I have more than professional feelings to my XO and I could do nothing about it._

"Stuff."

She raised her eyebrows at him. "Dutchy, what's wrong? You were so excited earlier. Was it something I said?"

"No, definitely not." He shook his head strongly. "Why don't you go upstairs and queue up in front of the theatre. I sort of need a seat in the last row because of my height." He smiled wryly. "I'll go and buy the popcorn. Do you want butter on top of yours?"

She couldn't help but smile at his attempt at distracting her from their previous conversation topic.

"No thanks. The normal one would be fine." She finally replied after a few seconds of silence. She then moved a step closer towards him. "Hey... You know you could talk to me, right? Whatever it is, I won't judge you..."

At her sincere offer, he couldn't help wishing that things were different. He wished that this outing was a real date; not a thank-you gesture from her for his care during her sickness. He wished that they both were not Navy personnel with fraternisation rule as a barrier between them. He wished that she could look at him differently, not as her fellow sailors, but as a man, a potential suitor for her heart.

"I know you would listen... But I couldn't talk about it... Not yet anyway..." He paused momentarily before continuing. "So, will you please let it go?"

The subdued look in his eyes worried her immensely, but she couldn't force him to bare his soul to her, especially not after he had made a request for her to let it go.

"I will..." she finally said. "In one condition though..."

"Hmm?" he raised his eyebrows at her.

"Could you please get me macadamia chocolate?"

He slowly grinned at her. "Yes, Ma'am..."

* * *

Dylan appeared beside Kate on the queue with large popcorn on one hand and two medium cokes on the other hand. Thankfully, he had half-a-mind to ask for a drink tray, otherwise he would have to be a circus juggler to be able to hold all of these things in an upright position.

With her chocolate safely tucked on his jacket pocket, he then carefully nudged her elbow to get her attention. "X?"

Her head whipped around in surprise at his presence. That was when he saw that her face was slightly pale. "Are you alright?" He searched her eyes for the answer.

"I think I need to go to the bathroom." Her shaky voice replied.

Before his mouth had even opened for a reply, she turned around and headed downstairs for the ladies toilet. He knew instantly that something was very wrong. He already started to follow her when he remembered all the goodies he carried. Looking at the group of teenagers in front of him, he then said, "Hey kids, free popcorn and Cokes?"

* * *

_Was it really Mike that I saw before? _Kate had been pondering that question ever since she locked the toilet door around 15 minutes ago.  
_  
It must be. _The hair, his broad shoulders and the way he walked when he passed her in the queue. She worked beside him every day, not to mention that she literally knew him inside and out. There was no way that she could've mistaken him for somebody else.

A few days ago she had decided not to wait for him to make up his mind anymore, but nothing prepared her for the sight of him and another woman queuing up for the same movie. Not just any woman, it was Commander White.  
_  
Has he really moved on? _Not surprisingly, she felt her heart ached at the possibility._ So much for trying to move on, Kate!_

She got up from the toilet seat and started to pace in that confined space. _Maybe I'm being paranoid. _They could be just friends hanging out together in their spare time. It just happened that his friend was female and someone she knew.

_Just like Dutchy & I._

With that thought, she stopped her pacing._ Hang on, are we even friends?_

She leaned against the toilet door resignedly._ If we're not friends, then why did we practically spend our spare time together lately?_

She then lifted her hand to massage her temple. _Why everything has to be so complicated?_

* * *

Dylan stood up against the wall opposite ladies toilet's door. He had to remind himself repeatedly that he was a guy and therefore not allowed to be in there. It was bad enough that every time someone opened the door, he tried unsuccessfully to have a look inside. These attempts had earned him several nasty glares from the women. He could only smile apologetically for his behaviour. Unfortunately, his normally likeable smile had not earned him any points today.

He looked at his watch. She had been in there for 20 minutes. _Is she sick again?_ He was just seconds away from pacing when the door opened and Kate appeared. For a while, they only stared at each other, trying to assess what the other was thinking.

"I should have brought you to the hospital when you first got sick." He finally broke the silence.

Kate looked at him as if he was crazy. "Excuse me?"

"Your stomach! You were in there for 20 minutes." He looked at her helplessly, angry at himself for not making the right decision the other day.

"Dutchy, I'm fine." She moved closer to him, reaching for his hands and squeezed tightly. For once, she didn't really think about the rules or what the scene must look like to other people around them. Her mind was on one thing only, to get rid of the distressed look on his face. She didn't know the real title of their relationship, but one thing she knew for sure, he did care for her. To belittle his genuine concern would be wrong and her next words should reflect her view on that.

"I'm not sick. I just need a time alone to think." She smiled wryly. "Let's just say that I saw someone that I didn't really want to see and I panicked a little bit."

He still stared at her worriedly, looking for any sign of nausea or similar symptoms.

"Beside, wouldn't you think that I would've brought myself to the hospital if I was that sick?" She said trying to abate his worry.

He didn't answer. He only raised his eyebrows at her.

She sighed. "You're right. Most likely I wouldn't."

His lips slowly formed a smirk at her statement.

As usual, she couldn't help but smiled back at him. "Really Dutchy, I'm fine."

"I guess we're not watching the movie then." He looked at her questioningly.

She grimaced. "I'm sorry."

He shook his head softly. "Don't worry about it. I'm just glad that you're not sick."

"I promise I'll make it up to you. Any plans you have, I'm in." Kate stated solemnly.

He smirked at her seriousness. "Anything, X? That's a dangerous offer."

She rolled her eyes at his cheekiness. _Seems like he is back to his normal self. _"Well, within reason of course."

He smiled at her typical answer. Realising that they still held hands, he let her hand go quietly, opting to stand close to her instead. _Better not to push my luck._ "Come on X, let's see if we can get a refund for your money."

* * *

"Dutchy?"

"Yeah?"

"If you really want to see the movie, we can go again tomorrow." Kate offered, still feeling guilty for the whole situation.

He suppressed his excitement about her offer and shook his head. "Na... That's alright. I'm sure you would like to do other things in your shore leave."

"Like work?" she looked at him pointedly.

"Are you serious?" he raised his eyebrows in disbelief.

She smiled wryly. "That's the beauty of being an officer, endless paperwork to finish."

"I bet shore posting would be worse. That's all you do during the day, paperwork. At least as the XO, you still get all the action from boarding party."

"True." She stopped walking and turned to lean against the wooden fences along the esplanade.

Moving to lean besides her, he continued. "No wonder the CO was reluctant to accept his promotion. It must be a relief for him when he was assigned back to Hammersley."  
_  
Ain't that the truth? Did Mike think twice about being assigned back to Hammersley? Did it ever cross his mind to say NO?_

_Who was she kidding? Mike Flynn loved his boat more than anything. I bet he said YES before Commander White even finished her sentence. _Kate thought bitterly at Dutchy's observation.  
_  
Come on Kate, you're not being fair! _

She had to admit that under similar circumstances, she probably would have said YES as well. They were the Navy. Orders were made to be obeyed, not negotiated. Knowing their dedication to their careers, she knew that Mike would have no choice but to return to his beloved boat. She guessed that she was bitter to the fact that he didn't actually discussed it with her or at least softened the blow before he actually showed up as the replacement CO. If she was important to him, wouldn't he make an effort to tell her about the re-assignment?

She sighed inwardly. _What am I to you Mike Flynn?_

* * *

"X?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you want to walk on the beach?"

Kate smiled at his offer. "You know, we work at sea every day, yet on our supposedly day off, we still can't be apart from it, always unconsciously looking for it."

"I know..." He smiled back at her. He then led the way to the stairs, trusting her to follow him down to the beach. Once he reached the bottom, he rolled up his long pants to his knees, toed off his shoes and carried them.

Kate followed his lead and proceeded to do the same. As her feet touched the sands, she inwardly sighed in contentment; nothing beat the feel of sands caressing your feet.

Walking side-by-side quietly, Dylan unconsciously moved to walk on her left side which was the closest to the beach. Kate could only shake her head at his protective instinct. Even in his shore leave, he still couldn't let his guard down.

"I know this is none of my business," Dylan couldn't hold his curiosity anymore, "who spooked you out in the cinema?"

She kept her gaze to the front, debating whether to tell him or not.

Sensing her struggle, he kept his silence, only occasionally glancing at her. She had been very quiet ever since he mentioned the CO and his promotion. He wondered why. Was the CO related to his XO's problem somehow? _It can't be. _Both the CO & XO worked well together on board. It's definitely not professional problem. _Was it personal then?_

Before he got the chance to ponder that question a little bit longer, she broke her silence. "It was him." He looked at her questioningly, willing her to elaborate further.

"Remember that night on the bar?" he nodded. "It was the same guy who was causing me to get trashed." She chuckled humorously. "He was there, queuing up for the same movie."

"Alone?" He cringed inwardly at his nosiness.

"No." She shook her head. His question had awakened her feelings in the cinema. Anger, hurt, and confusion blurred into one giant force, threatened to incapacitate her.

Seeing her face got paler and paler, he stepped in front of her, effectively blocking her from taking any step forward. He lifted her chin up and stared hard at her eyes. "Don't you dare continuing your pity-party!"

She looked up to find a pair of determined blue eyes staring at her.

"You are a lot stronger than this, X." He moved closer to her, so close that he could see his reflection in her green eyes. "Running away from him, locking yourself in the bathroom, that doesn't sound like the strong woman that I know." He could see anger in her eyes at his statement. _Good, anger is good. _

"You don't know me well enough, Dutchy!" She replied indignantly.

She tried to take a step back, but he was having none of it. Letting his shoes dropped from his left hand, he reached for her waist with both hands and held her close to him. "You're right. I'm still in the dark about who Kate really is. But, I think I know my XO well enough. My XO always insists that she could take care of herself. She could also command the crews' attention and respect like no one else. And she is the one person that the junior sailors always seek out to talk about their problem." He paused for a second, "as for Kate, I suspect that she wouldn't be too far from the XO's persona, only softer around the edges. Besides, you wouldn't be in this stage of your career by being a weak person."

She stared at him quietly and realised that he was right. She knew that she wasn't a weak person. Her life with her mother had taught her to be strong. She had survived from her mother's abusive boyfriends. She was a straight-A-student in school despite having to study with torch most of the time because her mother seldom paid the electricity bills. She graduated from the Naval Academy with the highest marks in her year despite having to nurse her broken heart. She was strong. Then why she was so affected by the sight of Mike and Commander White?

She then closed her eyes briefly, breaking eye-contact with the man in front of her. He still held her waist firmly. His warm hands were a contrast to the chilling wind. "I'm tired of being strong." She finally said, tempted to rest her body against his for a moment.

"You're not supposed to be strong all the time. That's why we are human, X." His voice softened as he could hear the vulnerability in her voice. "I'm sorry if I'm being too harsh before. I simply want you to stop think about a man like that. A man that was cheating on you and broke your heart definitely not worth your time and I hate to see you sad."

As he finished his sentence, the wind picked up a little bit and blew few strands of her hair to the front of her face. Seeing this, he smiled softly at her and lifted his right hand to brush her bangs aside and tucked the escaping strands of hair behind her ear.

At his sweet gesture, she lifted her eyes to meet his. That was when she saw something in his eyes; something much deeper than the care that she often saw in his eyes.

She involuntary moved back from him, trying to create a safe distance between them. She looked at his hardened face; a face of grim realisation. Then there was a hint of anger there, maybe to himself for letting his feelings seeped through his eyes. His current expression reminded her of his previous melancholy when queuing for the ticket. She now understood his struggle and his deflection tactic before.

Dylan tightened his fists, trying to control his frustration at the current situation. Somehow she knew about his inappropriate feelings and judging by her instant removal of herself away from him, there was every possibility that their mended relationship was now ruined.

"Dutchy, what are we?"

Hearing that question, he didn't know what to say. Lying would be out of question. Joking would probably make her angry. So he decided to be honest.

"I don't know, X. What do you want us to be?"

For a while, they just stared at each other. No other sound was heard except the sound of the waves breaking into the sands.

"You know we can't be more than this." She finally broke her silence. "I'm not ready. I don't know when or if I would be and of course, there are rules." She shook her head sadly.

It took a while for him to work out what she actually said. He eventually understood that she didn't actually say NO right away. She didn't say that there would be no chance in hell or something like that. A tiny hope started to claw back to his heart. "So if we both had regular jobs, if we both didn't have relationship problem, if there were no fraternisation rule between us, then things would be different?"

"Dutchy, don't..."

"X, it's a hypothetical question. It's just something that I need to know." He knew that he might be pushing her too hard. But he couldn't undo the whole situation. If she was going to write a report to the higher-ups about him and his indecent proposal, he might as well be completely honest about his intention towards her.

Kate pondered hard at his question._ Would things be different?_ If they just met randomly on the street, without any of the complication in their life, would she be attracted to him?

_Oh Yes... His smile is amazing. His physicality. Not to mention his blue eyes._

She sighed. _This is not fair. Why now?_

She knew she supposed to say no. This whole situation was not fair to him. But he deserved an honest answer.

"Maybe..."

His lips slowly formed a smile at her reply. "Maybe is good..."

After a few minutes of silence, he carefully took a step towards her. Realising that she didn't step backwards, he took another step, and another, until he could see her green eyes again.

He then took a deep breath and spoke again. "I can't offer you the world, X. I also know that I don't have the greatest reputation out there in terms of women. But," he looked at her seriously, "I can offer you happiness. I can offer you many days of laughter... As for the rules," his eyes crinkled, "you know that rules were meant to be broken, right?"

She shook her head half-amused and half-horrified at his rhetorical question. "You're impossible, Dutchy..."

_I wished things were less complicated. I wished I could take that offer straight away._

_I'm sorry, Dutchy..._

"Can I take a raincheck on your offer?"

As Dylan heard that question, he couldn't help himself, he started to grin stupidly at her. "Sure. Take as much time as you want." He paused for a moment, carefully choosing his next words. "Consider it as a standing offer. When you're ready, you know where to find me."

"Thank you." She smiled back and then held out her hand to him. "Friends then?"

He looked at her offered hand and grasped her hand firmly. "Friends sound good."

Without a word, he let go of her hand momentarily and picked up his discarded shoes. Turning back to face her, he offered his hand again to her. "Come on X, let's go find something to eat. I'm starving."

She shook her head amusedly. "Men and their stomachs. Why am I not surprised?" she took his offered hand and linked her fingers against his.

His heart swelled considerably at her gesture. There was no doubt in his heart that he wanted her to be more than a friend. But again, he reminded himself to be patient. The ball was now in her court. It was all up to her now.

"Well, a man has to eat." He finally replied to her previous retort as they started to walk back towards the stairs to the Esplanade. "Besides, you still owe me a breakfast, a movie and a popcorn..."

"How about pancakes?" she offered. "If the place is still open of course..."

He squeezed her hand tightly in agreement. "Perfect."

_To be continued..._


	6. Chapter 6

**Fixing a Broken Wing - Chapter 6**

_To **DK Lover**, in my story, I don't think Dutchy & Kate would ever just 'hook up'... I like my story to be as realistic as possible, hence the build up. Thank you for reading & commenting._

_To '**Guest'** reviewers, thank you!_

_This part is set after 4.14 Live Catch episode._

* * *

"Alright everyone, you know the drill. Stay alert, we don't know what or who we're going to find in that vessel."

The chorus of 'Yes, Sir' could be heard from all the crews in the RHIB.

Newcastle's radar had picked up a contact in the early hours of the morning. Due to the suspicious nature of the vessel and the threat of pre-dawn piracy activity, they had decided to do a boarding.

Dylan sat on his customary seat at the front, ready to board the vessel first. As the RHIB cut its way through the dark ocean, he looked up to the sky. It started to turn purple, preparing for the arrival of the glorious sunrise. He inwardly sighed. Being one of the sailors in guts watch, he hadn't slept all night. He couldn't help but wishing that this boarding would turn out to be uneventful and this fishing vessel would only contain fishermen on board.

Once the team boarded the vessel and no resistance encountered, even after announcing their presence repeatedly, LEUT Matthew Ryan wasted no time in dividing the team to check different parts of the vessel.

"Dutchy and Fitzy, check the wheel house."

Both sailors moved quickly to the wheel house, expecting the master of the vessel to be there. Instead, the vessel appeared to be on autopilot. Dylan looked at Fitzy alarmingly. He was just about to go back to the boat deck and report the anomaly to his boarding officer, when he heard the sound of a gun fire.

Instinctively, Dylan raised his rifle and ran to the boat deck. The sight that he encountered was not good. Half of the boarding party were desperately trying to find a place to hide behind anything solid. Bullets were coming from below deck and upper deck, literally tearing apart wooden crates and any pieces of equipments scattered on the deck. He managed to catch a glimpse of the people behind this surprised attack and felt his heart sank as their earlier suspicion came true. _Damn pirates!_

He started to return fire. Bullet after bullet came out of his rifle. Besides him, Fitzy was doing the same thing. He counted more than six pirates targeting them and decided to change his tactic. He zeroed his rifle on one of them; intending to eliminate the pirates one by one. He was about to pull the trigger for the killing shot when he heard a loud cry from the direction of his shipmates. He lifted his eyes from his rifle's binocular to find his boarding officer clutched his bleeding upper leg.

"Fitzy, cover me!" Not waiting for a reply, Dylan then made a quick move to reach his boarding officer, grabbed him by his vest and tried to drag him to find cover behind few wooden drums on the deck.

Realising that the wounded officer was a perfect target, the pirates zeroed their weapons on him, making it harder for Dylan to drag him to safety. By the time they both were relatively safe behind the wooden drum, LEUT Ryan had sustained more bullet wounds on his legs and on the side of his neck; taking a huge chunk of his flesh.

Dylan was desperately looking for Swain who carried first aid kit, but the man was under heavy fire on the other side of the deck. He raked his brain for any possible materials to stem the blood flows. He then took off both of his gloves and pressed it to the open wounds; hoping and praying that the man in front of him would hang on.

"Dutchy, you need to get them out of here." LEUT Ryan grabbed Dylan's upper arm tightly; urging his buffer to assume the responsibility of command.

"Sir, _we_ are going to get all of us out of here. But first, we need to stop your bleeding." Dylan could see that the man had started to slowly lose his consciousness as he was experiencing extreme blood loss. Dylan guessed that the bullet must have hit the femoral artery.

A pale face and a pair of dilated eyes then stared at Dylan sadly. "Dutchy, if I don't make it..."

"No, you will." Dylan shook his head strongly, refusing to entertain such possibility.

"Dylan..." The use of his first name made Dylan realised the gravity of the situation. "Tell Susan that I love her..."

"Matthew, NO! You can tell her yourself, you son of the bitch!" Dylan had the urge to shake his best friend from his resigning attitude.

"Tell her that I'm sorry... " ignoring Dylan's disapproving words, Matthew kept going, "I wished that I made her an honest woman a lot sooner ... I wished that I didn't waste so much time..."

"Mattie... just stop talking... you need to save your strength..." Dylan replied. His gloves were now soaked, staining his hands with dark red colour.

"Dylan, you have to promise me!" Matthew's grip on Dylan's upper arm tightened. A pair of green eyes stared hard at Dylan, begging him to say yes.

Dylan could feel a lump in his throat. Unable to utter another word, he could only nod his agreement. He then broke their eye contact, trying to concentrate in tearing his uniform's sleeves to a bandage. As he was pressing the torn uniform tightly around the wound, he looked up again to check whether Matthew's features have improved, but he could only find a pair of lifeless green eyes staring back at him.

Rage built inside Dylan's being. He couldn't believe that it would ever come to this. He should have stuck to Matthew like glue. _This is all my fault!_ He then lifted his hands from the other man's body, reached for his rifle and held it tightly. He was about to get up from his hiding place and taught all those pirates a lesson when bullets tore the wall besides him, few inches from his face. He threw his body to his left side to avoid the bullet while closing his eyes briefly.

When he opened his eyes again, the sun was shining brightly now. _Is it sunrise already?_ He looked to his surroundings. _Where's Matthew's body?_ He then realised that he was not hiding behind a wooden drum anymore. He actually leaned against the side railing of a vessel. _What the hell is going on?_ He could still hear the sound of the gun fight, which means that he was still in a boarding situation of some kind.

"Dutchy!" Suddenly his radio came alive. He was about to answer his radio when he saw a movement on his right side. His blood ran cold at the sight.

"X, get down on the ground!" He aimed his browning to the man behind Kate with his right hand while he gestured wildly with his other hand for her to duck for cover. "X, get down, get down, get down on the ground now!" She was not listening to him. Her eyes were glazed, as if she was in some kind of trance.

Then, the other man pulled the trigger. At the same time Bomber appeared behind the shooter and strangled him with a baton, preventing him from firing his gun again. But, it was too late. The force of the bullet impact threw Kate's body forward towards Dylan. He instantly moved to break her fall.

"X!" He held her body tight against his, slowly crouching down to lower her body to the deck and moved her so that she was lying on her side. He then urgently pressed his gloved hands to her wound at her back. Feeling the pressure, she groaned. "Sorry X."

"How is she?" He looked up to see Bomber crouched down beside him.

"Here, keep the pressure on her wound." He said while grabbing Bomber's hands to replace his. "I'm going to get Swain." Not waiting for her reply, he went back to the gun fight, searching for Swain.

"Swain!"

Hearing Dutchy's desperate voice, Swain looked up from his position behind a wooden crate. "Dutchy? What's wrong?"

"Quick, starboard side, it's the X!" The blood drained from Swain's face, thinking that the X was experiencing a side effect of Cyanide poisoning.

"Dutchy, she's not breathing!" Bomber's shout prompted both men to make their way towards Kate quickly.

Swain reached for her neck, trying to find a pulse, and found none. He then grabbed her body and laid her flat on her back. "Bomber, you do the breathing, I'll do the compression."

"1, 2, 3, 4..." Swain started counting for the CPR. After the first round of compression and breathing, Swain felt the pulse again, still none. "Come on X, breathe!"

Dylan looked in horror at the sight in front of him. Crouching on Kate's other side; he then slowly reached for her hand. It was still warm. _X, please hang on!_

But then, after few more attempts at CPR, he could hear Swain's voice in the background, announcing time of death. _No...Not again! _He then looked at her lifeless green eyes and he could feel his eyes sting. _Please GOD, not again!_

* * *

Dylan woke up suddenly from his restless slumber. He frantically reached around, trying to find the switch for his reading light. Before he had a chance to do that, someone had already switched on the cabin light, blinding him momentarily. When he opened his eyes again, he was looking at Swain's worried eyes.

"Dutchy, are you alright?"

He took a deep breath, trying to calm his heart beat. "I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" Swain still looked at him concerned.

"Yeah Swaino, if I'm not, then I will be."

"Alright then, but if you want to talk..."

"You're right under my bunk..." Both men chuckled at his attempt to lighten the situation.

Dylan then looked at his watch. It was 2 am. He sighed inwardly. It looked like he had to work with limited sleep in the morning because there was no way that he could go back to sleep after that nightmare. Maybe he should do few rounds of chin-ups.

"I'm going to get some air." He then climbed down from his bunk, grabbed his T-shirt, and went into the bathroom. Once inside, he leaned against the wall and closed his eyes. _It was so real_. _I could still see both of their lifeless eyes staring at me. _He shook his head to get rid of the remnants of his nightmare. After splashing cold water to his face and put on his t-shirt, he opened the bathroom door again. Realising that Swain had already turned off the cabin light, he made his way as quietly as possible to the cabin door.

"Swaino?"

"Yeah?" Swain turned on his reading light.

"I'm sorry I woke you up." Dylan looked at him apologetically. "I haven't had that kind of nightmares for a while."

"Dutchy, I'm a father. I'm used to Chloe waking me up because of nightmares."

Dylan chuckled. "Monster under the bed?"

Swain smiled at the memory. "Yeah, under the bed, in the wardrobe..." He sighed. "Not that I'm home enough to experience them all. Most of the time Sally had to go through everything on her own."

Dylan recognised the other man's expression. Regret, sadness and love mixed together. He remembered that Matthew used to wear that expression when he talked about Susan.

"Mate... The fact that you are worried about whether you are a bad parent normally means that you are a good one. The bad one wouldn't care about that. They only care about themselves."

"You think so?"

"I know so."

* * *

Dylan opened the door to the boat deck. As expected, the wind blew quite strongly. He welcomed it though. The breeze definitely would help him getting rid of the stuffy feeling he got from his nightmare. What he didn't expect was the fact that someone else actually had the same idea as him.

His heart beat once, twice... _She is alive. _She wasn't lying lifelessly on that fishing vessel anymore. Instead, she was standing against the railing on the boat deck, wearing only a pair of tank top and short that showed her pale skin. He yearned to touch her, to assure him that his dream wasn't real, that he didn't just lose his XO like he lost Matthew. He wished that he could hold her tight against him, to feel her heartbeat against his, so that he could convince his clouded mind that she was very much alive and well.

* * *

Kate stared at the deep blue ocean in front of her. It was quite a calm night, with only slight waves rolling as Hammersley steamed through the night for home port. The calm of the ocean still couldn't calm her mind about what happened on the fishing vessel. During the afternoon she was fine. Although she was on light duties, the business of running the ship still kept her fairly busy. But as the sun disappeared behind the horizon and her subconscious took over, her mind came back to the finer details of her experience, including an image of a large guy looming over her and the feeling of his hand undressing her shirt. An involuntary shudder ran through her body. The chilling wind only made the shudder worse. _Maybe I should go back to my cabin... But what about the nightmares?_ Before she could weigh up both options further, something warm was wrapped around her, followed by thermoses appearing in her line of sight. She looked back to find Dylan stood behind her, trying to balance two thermoses while keeping the blanket covering her body.

"Thanks." She smiled at him gratefully, grabbing both corners of the blanket to secure it around her chilled body. Once she was satisfied that the blanket was not going to fall off, she reached for the thermos and took a sip of the liquid inside.

"Can't sleep?" he looked at her curiously while leaning his body against the railing beside her.

She nodded. "You?"

"Same."

She huffed, "We are such a pair, aren't we?"

He chuckled. "Yeah, looked at us, holding a brew at 2.30 am in our pyjamas. Talking." He shook his head at the ridiculousness of the situation.

"At least we are in each other's company." Their eyes met again, longer this time. Kate then rested her head against his massive upper arm, grateful for the feeling of security from having him next to her.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He stared at the top of her head, realising that something was bothering her. _Maybe she has nightmares too?_

"Not really."

For the next few minutes, the only sound that they could hear was the sound of the boat engine rumbling beneath their feet and the sound of the ocean lapping at the base of the ship.

Kate knew that telling him the content of her nightmare would only make him feel guilty about what could have been. So she kept quiet. Sensing that his mind was as turbulent as hers, she quietly reached for his hand and linked their fingers together again. She kept surprising herself at how quickly she became at ease while physically touching him. Ever since their late night conversation on the beach, they had gradually become good friends; few movies here and there, few meals together, she even went along with him to help Charge with his house renovation. The truth was that spending time with him was easy. He made her laugh. He sometimes made her eyes rolled with his cheekiness too. But most importantly, they knew where they stood with each other. Unlike her and Mike...

"What about you? Why are you not sleeping?" asked Kate, deciding to steer her mind away from her troubled love life.

He squeezed her hand tighter and took a deep breath. The image of her and Matthew lying lifelessly on the stinky deck of fishing vessel rushed through his mind again. _Should I tell her?_

"Was it the Gulf?" she guessed. Almost straight away, she felt his muscles tightened at the mention of that particular event.

"Yeah... The last moment of Matthew's life." He finally relented after a few seconds of tense silence.

"Matthew?" She lifted her head from his upper arm to look at his features.

"LEUT Matthew Ryan. My boarding officer."

"What was he like?" asked Kate curiously.

"A good bloke," he smiled at the memory, "loved to read. He drove us nuts with his tendency to blurt out random little facts in his spare time."

"He sounded a bit like RO."

He chuckled. "A little bit. But he was a lot more outgoing than RO."

"He meant a lot to you, didn't he?"

He looked at her sadly. "It was our last rotation in the gulf. The incident happened only 2 weeks before we were scheduled to arrive home and 3 weeks before I was supposed to be standing beside him as his best man. Instead of all that, 3 weeks later both myself and his fiancé, Susan, stood as we watched his casket being lowered to the ground."

"I'm sorry Dutchy." She tightened her hold of his hand as her way of comforting him.

"I was expecting Susan to blame me for failing to protect him. But she didn't. She said thank you instead. A thank you for being there for Matthew when she couldn't." He shook his head. "It was bizarre. I was so guilt-ridden that I couldn't sleep for weeks. Hearing her gratitude, I really wanted to shake her and beg her to slap me or something."

"She knew that it really wasn't your fault. You really need to stop doing this to yourself." She gave him a long stare, wiling him to really listen to her this time.

"You know the first time we met on the bridge of Hammersley, you looked so fragile, like a porcelain doll..."

"Excuse me?" she looked at him incredulously.

He ignored her indignation and continued. "Then I looked at your eyes. They are the exact same shade as Matthew's," he chuckled softly, "it felt like the Man above had answered my prayer and gave Matthew back to me but in a more delicate version. In a way, it was a chance for me to redeem myself. I could imagine Him saying to me, 'Here you go, Son. Try to do a better job this time around hey?' But it felt a lot more like a punishment to me."

"No wonder you were such a dickhead back then." She said bluntly.

He laughed. "More like a sexist pig I would say."

"That too." She smiled softly at him.

"I wish that I don't care so much about you." He stroked her thumb with his larger one. "I wish I could resist your poking and prodding. But you're just so damn stubborn."

"It's a moot point, isn't it? Besides, I don't believe that your guilt would be any less if something had happened to me back when you were still trying to ignore me. I think there would probably be more guilt. Because you wouldn't only regret your inability to keep me safe, you would also regret the fact that you were less than civil towards me." She looked at him pointedly.

He smirked at her. "Since when do you become philosophical, X?"

"I think I'm getting old," she sighed, "I'm getting softer. When I was younger, I wouldn't bother with being patient during that 2 months period and just deck you instead."

"Hold it right there," he looked at her amused. "Firstly, you're not old. Secondly, what makes you think that you could deck me easily?"

She scowled at him. "I might not be able to knock you over, but I'm sure I could make your nose bleed."

"Yeah, that's if your arm is long enough to reach my nose," he said smugly, a large smile adoring his face.

She jabbed her elbow to his ribs as hard as she could. Her scowl got even deeper when he didn't seem to feel any effect of her jab. She then glared at his smug face. "You're lucky that I like you Dutchy."

His smile was only getting bigger. Getting her flustered and riled up was fast becoming his favourite pastime activity. "Don't be so cut up about that, X. I'm sure you could hurt me some other way," he added cheekily.

She could feel her cheeks burning, due to prolonged exposure to his blinding smile. When she couldn't find a comeback, she just gave him her best dirty look, which sadly, didn't do much to wipe that smile out of his face. "When you finish mocking me, Petty Officer, you might want to escort me back to my cabin," she said while grasping her blanket tighter around her.

His smile quickly turned into a concern when he realised that she started to get goose bumps. In the midst of their long chat, he didn't really pay attention to the decrease in temperature around them.

"Come on, X. If we are lucky, we might get few more hours of sleep," he said while looking at his watch. They made their way quickly through the locker room to the corridor, hoping that they would not encounter anyone else in their journey to her cabin. On the way, they made a quick stop to the wardroom to rinse their thermoses and store the blanket. However, as they arrived in front of her cabin, they heard a very disturbing noise. It was Charge's voice from the bridge, singing a very bad rendition of Danny Boy.

Kate sighed. This was why she sometimes complained about the location of her cabin. It was too close to the bridge. It looked like there would be no more sleep tonight; maybe she should just do her paperwork.

"Do you want me to talk to him?" Dylan offered, wondering why anybody would sing if they had a really bad voice.

"That's alright. I'm not really fancying sleeping anyway. I'll sleep when we arrive at port this morning." She smiled softly at him. "Thanks for the offer though."

"You're welcome." He stood there feeling like he was a teenager escorting his girlfriend to the front of her house after a date, trying to prolong the conversation so the night wouldn't end. They stood staring at each other for a while, neither wanted to say goodbye. _This is ridiculous, Dylan. Let the Lady have some rest. _He finally broke their eye contact and whispered softly. "I'll see you in the morning." He then turned away to start his journey to his cabin in the lower deck.

"Dutchy?" Kate called tentatively.

"Yeah?" He turned back and settled himself leaning against the wall opposite her cabin door.

"Do you have any plans for the shore leave?" she looked at him with expectant eyes.

His lips curved up at the question. "Nothing really specific, why?"

"I saw a billboard about a very interesting place up north from Cairns. I thought you might like going there."

"What kind of place?"

She smiled. "It's a secret."

He raised his eyebrows at her. "Okay..."

"I just thought that you always plan our outings. Most of the time, you are the one who drag me from my home or the ship to go somewhere. So, it's my turn this time."

Hearing her explanation, he couldn't contain his grin. The fact that she wanted to spend time with him and made an effort to organise their outing just made this solemn night so much brighter. "When?"

"Sometime in the afternoon," she grinned back at him, "I'll call you."

"Make sure you do." He then stepped closer to her and raised his hand to touch her cheek softly. "Try to get some sleep then. I know you have to go straight to the hospital in the morning. If we want to do something in the afternoon, then you need to be well rested before that."

She smiled softly at his concern. "You need to get some sleep too."

He nodded. "Sleep tight X."

"Good night, Dutchy."

_To be continued..._


	7. Chapter 7

**Fixing a Broken Wing - Chapter 7**

_A/N: This part is set on the afternoon after the last chapter._

* * *

Kate stood in front of unit number 3 with a frown attached to her forehead. She was confused. She had pressed the buzzer 3 times and so far, there was no sign of life from inside the unit.

_Is he in the shower?_ She had to shake her head to get rid of the mental image that came with that thought. _Come on Kate, focus!_

She then grabbed her phone and dialled his number. Her worry increased tenfold when she could hear his 'Terminator' ringtone ringing continuously from inside the unit. _Where is he?_

She decided to look around the complex for him. Stepping to the other side of the small block of unit, she saw a group of girls leaning against the railing on the corridor. _Maybe they know where he is._

"Excuse me, girls?"

Only one of them looked back at her, the other girls were busy talking and giggling among themselves. "Yeah?"

"I'm looking for Dylan Mulholland. He lives in unit number 3. Do you have any idea where he might be?"

The girl looked at her confused. "I'm sorry. I don't know anyone by that name."

"Are you sure? He's tall, blonde, has a bike."

Realisation dawned on the girl's face. "You mean that guy?" her finger pointed to the direction the lawn directly below her.

Kate stepped closer to the railing and looked down curiously. Her pupils involuntarily widened at the sight. He was crouching in front of his bike, washing it with only a cloth and a bucket. Shirtless. His tanned back was on display in all its glory. _Breathe, Kate, Breathe!_ Her eyes then focused on his boardies riding low on his hips, presenting her with a strip of untanned flesh below the waist line.

The loud sound of the girls giggling broke her trance. She blushed furiously; partly embarrassed that she was caught ogling a guy by a group of teenagers and partly because of what she saw down there. Trying to control her feature as best as she could, she then alerted the man of her presence, "hey Dutchy!"

He looked up from his bike and smiled broadly at her. "X! Been up there long?"

Seeing his smile, the giggling of the girls got louder, followed by a few 'Oh, My, GOD' and 'He's so cute!' Amazingly, he didn't even look at them or acknowledge them. It was as if he had a tunnel vision and she was standing at that end of the tunnel. She couldn't help but felt warm enveloped her from the inside.

"Not long." She then looked at her watch. "We really should be going though. We have a long drive ahead of us."

He then stood up and reached for something in his pocket. "Here, catch this!" He threw his key to her. "Make yourself comfortable. I'll be up there shortly."

She caught the key and smiled back at him. "Well, make sure you hurry up Petty Officer."

He grinned at her. "Yes, Ma'am!"

* * *

"This is a pretty small car." Dylan stated while trying to get his long legs comfortable.

"Are you criticising my car?" Kate raised her eyebrow at him.

"I'm not criticising your car. I'm just stating an obvious fact." He tried to defend himself from her possible wrath.

She rolled her eyes at his attempt. "It's not wise to criticise your ride Mr Mulholland. I could conveniently stop right now and leave you stranded on the side of the highway."

"You wouldn't do that. You like me," he said cheekily.

As usual, her lips involuntarily curved up. "You're lucky that I do."

His head whipped around in surprise at her words. He was expecting her to simply huff at him or shake her head exasperatedly. Her agreement frankly threw off his balance a little bit. _Maybe that raincheck is not so far out of my reach after all._

"I'm seriously not criticising your car. I'm just not used to small car. I've had trucks, tractors, bikes, utes..."

"And a convertible?" she looked at him pointedly. "That's a small car."

He chuckled. "Well, why do you think I have the hood down?"

"So, what's the story with the convertible?" asked Kate curiously.

"What story?" he looked at her questioningly.

"Well, was it a rental?"

"The girls or the car?" he snorted.

She gave him a dirty look. "It's funny that Swain replied with the exact same question when I asked his opinion before..."

A long silence greeted her statement. She didn't know whether she had crossed the line. After all, the question was kind of personal. "You know what? You don't have to answer that." She looked at him apologetically.

He smiled at her softly. "Honestly X, it was both. The girls and the car."

"Really?" She glanced at him briefly.

"Yup. I sort of hired an escort service. The girls came with the car." He grimaced.

Kate was stunned by his confession. "Why?"

"What do you mean 'why'?"

"No offence Dutchy, but you don't look like you need to hire a girl to get a girl. You could just walk to a bar and I bet that there is a big chance that most girls in the bar would throw themselves at you."

"Is that a compliment, X?"

Sensing his attempt to avoid the conversation by aggravating her, she then said, "You know what I mean..."

He looked at her sadly. "I used to be that guy. Came to the bar alone and went home with a girl," he sighed. "But then the nightmares started. The violent one, which included screams, tears and night terrors. Once I scared a girl so badly that she just called a taxi in the middle of the night rather than staying with me till morning. It was humiliating in so many levels."

"Does the nightmare happen often?"

"It's less frequent now. In fact, this morning's nightmare was the first one for about a month."

"I still don't understand why you need to hire an escort though..." Kate knew that she was pushing issue, but she was still puzzled by the whole reasoning behind his decision.

He reached out to tuck the escaping strands of her hair behind her ear absentmindedly. He wished that she was not driving at the moment, so that he could hold her hands to draw her strength.

"When I met a girl in the bar, most likely it would end up as a one night stand. If I was lucky, we would exchange phone numbers in the morning and probably met up some other time; which only happened a few times, but still, there was quite an expectation for it to happen." He took a deep breath and continued. "Sometimes, you get tired of living like that and dream that one day you'll fall in love with one of the girls you bring home. The nightmares simply make that dream and expectation impossible."

Feeling the sadness and loneliness pouring out of his words, she quietly activated her car's cruise control and reached for his right hand with her left hand, leaving her right hand to do the driving. She couldn't help but feel a little bit ashamed at her initial impression of him. She also felt anger to the Navy shrinks that did his mandatory assessment after the Gulf incident. How could the supposedly experts of human's mind be fooled by his charming smile and easy-going attitude? Shouldn't they be able to detect the sign of PTSD like this?

He was grateful for her instinct and gripped her hands tighter. "That was why I hired the escorts. Don't get me wrong, they are beautiful and smart girls. Some of them even join the escort business to pay for their uni degree. But with the escorts, there was no expectation. I didn't have to worry whether they would be running scared in the middle of the night or whether they would be willing to exchange phone numbers in the morning. I know that I would never meet those girls again except for one night. We meet up, take a joy ride with the car, have fun in the hotel room all night and in the morning, they drive me to the port or my apartment. It was an easy escape."

Silence descended on them once again. Dylan still hadn't let go of her hand. Frankly speaking, the more he knew her, the more he spent time with her, the more he needed her in his life. It scared him a little bit to feel so dependent on someone else like this. There was just something about her that made him wanted to pour his heart out and finally start that long journey of recovery from all the tragedy in the Gulf.

"Dutchy?"

"Yes?"

"When you see Caltex petrol station on our right side, let me know. We need to get out of the highway and stop for a bit so you can stretch your legs," she smiled softly at him.

His lips curved up at her words. "X, you're simply the best."

She huffed. "No need for compliments. I'm doing it so you would stop whinging about how small my car is."

Dylan laughed.

_What a beautiful sound. I wished he could laugh as carefree as that every day._

"Although your motive for being nice is questionable, but still, thank you, X." He squeezed her hand tighter for a few seconds.

"You are welcome."

* * *

Finally, after 1 hour and 15 minutes of driving, they stood in front of the billboard that planted this idea in Kate's head.

"What do you think?" Kate looked at Dylan expectantly. If his smile was any indicator of how he felt at the moment, she would guess that he really liked the surprise.

"When? How?" He looked at her briefly to stammer the question before staring back at the billboard that said 'Ride the Beach' with pictures of horsemen and women riding on the beach.

"Remember that dinner before the last patrol?"

He nodded.

"You said that one thing that you missed the most from living in the cattle farm was the fact that you got to ride the horses every day. You also said that you simply loved to ride because of the feelings of raw strength beneath you while you were riding." She looked at the billboard in front of her. "I saw a smaller version of this billboard near the Esplanade and I remembered you."

He smiled at her with a raw adoration in his eyes. He really wished that he could kiss her right at this moment. He knew he couldn't, so he just pulled her shoulder to his for a sideway hug. "You really are listening to all my ramblings."

She smiled back at him. "Of course. I'm a good listener after all."

He then let go of her shoulder and offered his hand to her. "Shall we?"

She linked their fingers together as the answer and quietly leaded the way to the reception desk inside the complex.

* * *

"Hi guys. I'm Travis, your guide for today." A tall and lanky guy approached them after they had changed their casual clothes to riding clothes.

"Hi Travis, I'm Dylan Mulholland." Dylan shook the other man's hand firmly.

Kate followed suit a few moments later. She could feel Dylan's excitement as they approached the stable.

"So, do you know what level of experience you both are?" Travis asked them as they arrived at the front of the stable.

"Dylan is the experienced one. I'm the novice." Kate said by way of explanation.

"You've never ridden before?" Dylan asked curiously.

"The last time I rode a horse was when I was 7. It was a pony." She smiled softly at one of the good memory of her childhood.

"Either you grew up in the farm like me or you came from a rich family," Dylan said teasingly.

She chuckled, "Well, my father was a wealthy landowner in England."

"And?" he prompted, willing her to share further.

"And I think Travis is ready for us." Her eyes were pleading him not to press the issue.

"Okay then. Maybe later?" he looked at her patiently.

"One day. I promise." Smiling at each other softly, their eye contact was only broken when Travis called both of them inside.

They found him stood beside a beautiful horse. He then said, "Dylan, I think you should try this one."

Dylan's eyes lightened up at the sight.

Travis continued the introduction, "Dylan, meet Kelly. She's 11 years old. She used to work on a cattle station as well."

"She sounds like my kind of girl." Dylan then lifted his hand and caressed the long white strip that ran all the way through from its forehead to its mouth of an otherwise black quarter horse mare.

"For you Kate, meet Scooter." Travis brought Kate to the opposite side of the stable.

Kate raised her eyebrows at Travis for the horse name. "Is she as fast as her name sounds?"

"Nope. She's actually really quiet, specialised for novice rider and children."

"That's good to know. Don't really want to fall from a horse." Kate stated nervously.

"Don't worry. Between me and your man over there, you are going to be just fine."_  
_  
_My man?_ She was just about to open her mouth to correct Travis when she was distracted by a vision in front of her. Dylan sat on a horse, looking like a guy that came straight from the old western movies, except for the lack of gun holster. She could feel her mouth had gone dry. _What did I get myself into?_

* * *

They had started with the rainforest trail, riding along the narrow path of the rainforest. During the ride, they sighted some pretty incredible creatures in the rainforest. They also crossed a seasonal shallow creek in one part of the rainforest.

It was quite an adventure for Kate, maybe a bit too much for her first ride, but as usual, she slowly but surely mastered the new set of skills. But to be honest, after an hour ride in the rainforest, she was quite relieved to find a familiar scene of waves rolling on the beach. Apparently, they now commenced their second leg of the journey.

Kate caught the longing look in Dylan's eyes when he saw few other riders in other groups sprinted across the sand. _Poor guy. Get stuck with a novice rider like me. _ "Dutchy, go on." She flicked her head towards those riders.

He raised his eyebrows at her. "Are you sure you'll be alright?"

"Yes, I'm sure. Travis is here." She rolled her eyes at his protectiveness. When he still hesitated, she gave him another push. "Come on big fella, show me what you got."

He grinned at her and started to speed up. He sprinted on the very edge of the beach, spraying water along the way. It was a beautiful sight.

When he sprinted back towards her wearing the biggest grin on his face, she felt that her chest swelled with happiness for him. _So this is how it feels to make someone truly happy._

Travis then showed Kate the technique to speed up her horse. Not long after few lessons, she started to ride faster. She was still not allowed to sprint like Dylan, but at least she was not the slowest among other riders on the beach, which made her quite happy.

Unfortunately, the good time had to end sometime. Two hours had passed since they started the ride. They were in the final 15 minutes of the journey back to the stable. Dylan was mentally preparing himself for the withdrawal that sure would come when he parted with the horse. God knew how long before he would be able to do this again.

"Why do you look so sad?" Kate asked him curiously, seeing his expression went from bliss to gloom.

He chuckled. "I just realise that I really miss riding. Few hours didn't seem to be enough."

"We can always come back."

He looked at her with hope shining in his eyes. "Really?"

"Of course. Besides, I'm eager for some more lessons. I want to be able to sprint like you, so we can have a race," her eyes glinted competitively.

"Guys, you can dismount here. I'll bring them inside." Travis had to break up their conversation as they reached the front of the stable.

Dylan dismounted from his horse effortlessly. Travis then took hold of Kelly while Dylan helped Kate with the dismount. He held her waist tightly, unwilling to take any chances. When her feet finally touched the ground again, he then let go. Together they both quietly thanked Travis for the two-hour guide. The other man then disappeared inside the stable, presumably to take care of the three horses.

Both of them had started walking to the change room when Dylan stopped. "X?"

"Yeah?" Kate turned back towards him.

He took off his hat and stepped closer to her. Staring at her intently, he took off her hat as well and held both hats with his left hand. He then brushed her bangs aside and cupped her cheek with the palm of his hand.

"Thank you." He smiled broadly at her, causing her cheeks to turn pink. But still, she simply couldn't look away.

"You are very welcome." She smiled back at him. "It's nice to see you truly smile."

"Thank you for thinking of me when you saw that billboard." He leaned forward and kissed her forehead briefly. Then her nose, causing her to close her eyes momentarily.

"Thank you for really listening to me." He caressed her ear and down to the side of her neck softly.

She shivered slightly at his touch. She was not sure what was happening to her. She knew she supposed to pull away from him, but her eyes were glued to his blue one, as if she was hypnotised.

He then pulled her to him with both arms, embracing her tightly against him.

She gasped at the feeling of the hard muscles of his body.

"X, this is the part where you should slap me and yell at me for being inappropriate towards you." He touched his forehead against hers. "Will you do that? Or will you let me kiss you?"

Her heart was hammering against her chest cavity. She could feel his heart doing the same thing. _Should I say no?_ _Should I demand him to let me go?_

"I think that you should just shut up and kiss me, Dutchy."

Smiling at her taunt, he simply lowered his lips and kissed her. Lightly at first, before his hand cupped the back of her neck and deepened the kiss. They had to part momentarily for air a few minutes later, but she then surprised him by standing on her tip toes and initiating another kissing session. Both of her hands were cupping the side of his neck to kiss him even harder. Out of breath, they parted for air for the second time.

"You look like a clown." Kate smiled fondly at the image while she ran her thumb on his lips to wipe the slight smudge of her lip-gloss.

"If I were a clown, I would be the happiest one on the planet." He grinned at her and lowered his lips again to kiss her softly this time.

Slowly, he loosened his embrace. "Shall we go home?"

She nodded. She then quietly slipped her arm to his waist and rested her body against his side. His arm automatically came up around her shoulder. Together they resumed their walk to the change room.

"X..." Dylan started.

"It's Kate." She looked pointedly at him. "I think after swapping spit with one another, we are entitled to forget formality while on leave."

He laughed. "Only if you call me Dylan."

"Deal."

He then turned serious. "Kate, what will happen tomorrow?"

Realising the seriousness of the situation, she lifted her head from his shoulder to look at him properly.

"I kissed you before you even say 'YES' to my standing offer." Both smiled softly at the memory of that night on the beach a month ago. "Not to mention that you are still trying to mend your broken heart." He caressed her cheek softly. "You really need to tell me if I'm rushing you, Okay?"

"You're not rushing me into anything." Reaching up, she touched his lips while contemplating her next words. "I kissed you back and frankly, I like your kisses."

"Yeah?" he grinned at her statement and kissed her again. "This is important to me though. You are important and I would never want to upset you."

Silence descended on both of them. For a while they just hugged each other tightly, neither wanted to let go of this moment and come back to reality that awaited them when they stepped outside.

Lifting her head from his chest, she finally broke the silence. "Dylan, I'm not ready for the big talk yet," she sighed. "I knew that we just broke the rules. I knew that I still have this ghost from the past clouding my heart. But at this moment, I really don't care about all of that." She took a deep breath. "I just wanted to enjoy the rest of the night with you. Because tomorrow, my carriage will turn back into a pumpkin and I have to be your XO again."

"I couldn't do this tomorrow morning," she kissed him again to emphasise her point. "I couldn't just be in your arms during the patrol. I have a ship to run and 20 other sailors that depended on me." She looked at him pleadingly. "So, could we please just be lost in each other tonight?"

Dylan smiled at her softly. _As if I could deny her anything._ "As you wish Kate."

He then kissed her deeply while tightening his arms around her.

"As you wish."

_To be continued..._


	8. Chapter 8

**Fixing a Broken Wing - Chapter 8**

_A/N: This chapter is set after 4.15 Flotsam and Jetsam episode. It's also set approximately a week after the previous part._

* * *

Mike had lain awake for the last hour, staring at the bottom of the bunk above him. His mind kept replaying the reprimand he gave to 2Dads and Bomber. He knew that was the right thing to do as a CO, but he couldn't help but felt like a hypocrite.

Shouldn't he be more tolerant then about the two young sailors? Should he actually turn a blind eye? After all, he broke those rules ages ago for Kate.  
_  
Kate..._

He could see this afternoon that the reprimand was also taking its toll on her. Sitting on one of the bulkhead with her head leaning against the railing, shoulder hunched, she looked defeated. He was under no illusion that his indecisiveness was one of the reasons that brought her to the edge. Their interaction after that "coffee" conversation in Karumba had been nothing but professional. _Too professional. _He missed the meals they had shared over the years. Lately, every time he texted or called her to invite her for dinner, she always had an excuse ready for him. He missed the friendship they had and more importantly, he missed her.

He sighed deeply. _Am I too late?_

He then got up from his bed and grabbed his T-shirt. With all this thought in his head, he knew that he couldn't go back to sleep. He might as well do his paperwork._ But first, I need coffee._

Making his way down the corridor to the galley, he relished the opportunity to experience the peace and quiet of the ship. A moment to reflect. A quiet moment between him and his beloved 'girl'. He could just feel the gentle rocking of the ship and the rolling of the waves beneath it, as if she was dancing with him. His thought was interrupted by the flash of blonde hair in the distance.  
_  
Kate?_

He quickened his footsteps a little bit, determined not to lose her trail. When he reached the last corner of the hallway closest to the galley, he then stood with his back against the wall and listened to her footsteps.

It stopped.

He then carefully took a peek to the hallway in front of the galley and found Kate stood in front of the wardroom. He quickly stood back against the wall again. Then he heard the sound of the door knob turning. He waited there, listening to the door opened and closed again.  
_  
What is she doing in the wardroom?_

Then it dawned on him. _Dutchy is in there._

* * *

Kate stepped inside the wardroom, careful not to wake up the sleeping patient. Surprised that the light was still on, she instantly reached for the switch of the reading lights on the corner to turn it on before she flicked off the switch to the main light. _That's better._.. That way when he woke up tomorrow morning, his eyes would not be blinded.

She then quietly grabbed the plastic chair on the corner and carried it to his bedside. She sat on it gingerly, hoping that it would not produce a squeak. She then breathed a sigh of relief as she managed to avoid making any sound.

For a few minutes, she was fixated by the inhale-exhale movement of his chest. Her eyes then moved to his face. _He looks so peaceful... _The frown line on his forehead disappeared, as if he no longer carried the weight of the world on his shoulders.

She caressed his cheek softly, tracing the soft line on his upper cheek where the crease usually appeared when he smiled. She then ran her thumb lightly on his lips, just like what she did in front of the stable that day. She smiled on the memory. With all the things that happened during this patrol, the kisses and the hugs they shared that day seemed a million years away. But actually, it was only a week ago.

She frowned when she realised that his lips were chapped and dry. She wondered whether there was any lip balm in one of the drawers in this room. She was just about to get up and investigate when the doorknob turned.

She quickly lifted her hand away from Dylan's lips and turned around to see who was entering the room. Expecting the person to be Swain or Bomber to check on the patient, she was surprised to see Mike opened the door and closed it behind him.

Silence descended on both of them. Their eyes met and she could see a hint of suspicion in his eyes.

"Can I help you with anything, Sir?" she finally broke the silence, purposely keeping her voice low.

Mike was quietly assessing the situation. The only ammunition he had at the moment was a mere suspicion. He didn't think it was wise to go on the attack mode and demanding explanation from her with only a suspicion. That would be a suicide. So, for the moment, he was only going to observe.

"Apparently the thermoses in the galley had run out of coffee, so I'm trying my luck here. I forgot we have a patient in here."

She looked at him sceptically. Surely he could boil water and make coffee himself, rather than looking for a ready-made coffee that Bomber had prepared beforehand? It seemed that lately, Bird had been the coffee girl around the bridge too, spoiling the boys. She would definitely have to think of more activities for the young girl to break that habit. But for the moment, she would indulge whatever game he was playing.

"Mike Flynn and his coffee addiction, why am I not surprised?" the corner of her mouth turned up slightly.

He chuckled. "Yup. You know me too well Kate."

She could feel the hidden meaning behind those words. _You are not playing fair, Mike Flynn!_

He looked at her intently for a few seconds, before turning his attention to the sleeping figure on the bed. "So, how is the patient?"

She welcomed the distraction and turned to look at Dylan's face again. "Sleeping. The painkillers must have knocked him out."

"He has been injured so many times during his time with us." Mike stated his observation quietly.

Too tired to reply, she just nodded at his statement. She hadn't been able to sleep at all tonight. Her mind was a mess. She was worried about Dylan. She felt sad that they had to lose Bomber because of the whole fraternisation rule. Most of all she was frustrated by her own situation. Two men; both were serving on the same ship. It didn't matter where she turned to; there were huge brick walls on both sides with capital "F" written on it.

She came here to find peace and quiet, to draw strength from Dylan. Although at the moment he was asleep, his presence always calmed her. But the presence of Mike ruined her intention. Annoyance started to build inside her for his bad timing.

"Why are you really here?" Kate gave him a long stare. "I'm sure it's not for coffee."

"I can ask you the same thing, Kate." He shot back at her, refusing to back down.

She was about to reply when she heard a groan.

"Dutchy?" Kate got up from her seat and stood closer to the bed. She saw that he was trying to move his right hand to cover his slightly opened eyes. Worried that he might pull his IV needle out with his movement, she grabbed his hand and placed it back down on his side.

"Ssshh... Close your eyes... Go back to sleep..." whispered Kate softly.

She was aware of the increased tension in the room. She really hoped that Dylan would go back to sleep straight away, avoiding a more complicated situation.

"Kate? Is that you?"  
_  
No such luck, Kate._

She sighed inwardly. She could feel Mike's hardened gaze on her and Dylan, but she ignored it all. Instead, she tightened her grasp on Dylan's hand and leaned closer to his face.  
_  
Dylan needs me now._

"Hey, how are you feeling?"

"A bit sore." Dylan crunched his forehead trying to remember what had happened to him. "Why am I here?"

"You don't remember?" she looked at him worriedly.

"I remembered joining the shore party to the island, the gun battle, but then it's blank..." He tried to open his eyes once more, but his eyes were so heavy, so he had to be satisfied hearing Kate's voice instead of looking into her eyes.

"All those running in the island tore up your stiches. I guess your body simply couldn't handle it and you fainted."  
_  
Swain was right. He didn't remember a thing._

"I'm still so tired..." He groaned again.

"You should go back to sleep then."

"Only if you stay here." He pulled her hand to his chest, unwilling to let her go.

"Dylan..." Realising the slip of her tongue, Kate froze. She then looked back at Mike, who stood rigidly in the corner of the room.

Mike tightened his fists. He was beyond angry. He was livid. He couldn't believe what he had seen, the intimacy, the hand holding, they even called each other by their given names. _What the hell is going on?_

Afraid that he couldn't control his anger any longer, he searched for Kate's eyes and flicked his head towards the door, quietly demanding an explanation outside.

Kate reluctantly nodded. She waited until Mike went out of the room before trying to pry her hand from Dylan's grasp.

"Where are you going?" Dylan held her hand even tighter, confused as to why she was trying to get away from him.

"Cup of tea." She cringed at her excuse. It was the exact same one she used earlier that day.

"Oh, okay then." He loosened his grasp. "But you'll come back, right?"

She chuckled at his childlike behaviour. _Men could be such a big baby sometimes._

"Of course. I won't be long." She then kissed his forehead lightly and squeezed his hand one more time before following Mike outside.

* * *

"Care to explain what was that, X?" Mike didn't even wait until Kate closed the ship office's door behind her before blurting out the question he desperately wanted the answer to.

"With all due respect, Sir, it was none of your business." Kate replied coldly.

"Of course it's my business. This is my ship! I have the right to know whether my XO and my buffer, two of the most respected sailors on board, are breaking fraternisation rule with each other." He then took a deep breath, dreading the answer to the question he was about to ask next. "Tell me X, was that the case?"

She looked at him defiantly, refusing to back down. "This is more than professional enquiry, isn't it? This is personal for you."

Hearing the accusation in her voice, he stepped forward and grabbed her waist towards him. His blue eyes stared hard at her green ones. "Damn right it is personal, Kate!"

She struggled to break free. Sensing this, he then pulled her even closer to him, until not a single inch separating their bodies. "Please tell me what's going on..." He desperately needed her to say that nothing was going on between her and Dutchy.

His close proximity disoriented her. She hated that he still had these effects on her. Her heart also constricted seeing the desperation in his eyes. She then said honestly, "I'm trying to move on, Mike."

Mike blanched._ No...No...Please no!_ His firm grasp on her waist loosened slightly, allowing her to break free.

"With him?" He then said incredulously. "With a guy that most of the time had more than one girl in his arms? What were you thinking?"

Her face hardened. "You don't know him at all. You had no right to judge him!"

"And I suppose you know? Exactly how well do you know him, huh?" the implication of that question brought images of Kate and Dutchy to the forefront of his mind. He had to close his eyes briefly to get rid of that very painful glimpse of a possible future; a future that he might have to endure if he didn't do anything to prevent it.

The implication didn't escape Kate either. _How dare he?_

She hissed furiously. "I'm not sleeping with him! What kind of woman do you think I am?"

Her question hung in the air. Thick silence enveloped them.

He then sighed, breaking the silence. "I think that you are being a little selfish. You might not care about your reputation, but you really should think about his. Imagine the damage to his reputation if the brass found out. A war hero caught breaking fraternisation rule with his own XO..."

She looked at him in disbelief. "Is that a threat?"

"No..." He shook his head to emphasise his word. "It is only a glimpse of consequences that you both might have to face if you both decided to continue. Unless of course one of you decides to transfer off." He looked at her meaningfully. "Tell me Kate, are you willing to do that for him? Is he willing to do that for you?"

Her eyes flashed dangerously. She then took a step forward towards him, refusing to be intimidated by his hidden threat. "As a CO of the ship, I acknowledge that you have a responsibility to uphold the rules, including fraternisation rules, without any exception... It means that if you wanted to report Dutchy and I, then you would have to write down a report about us too..."

"We have never ever brought our relationship on board the ship! I was on shore posting before..."

"I'm not talking about that... I'm talking about 9 years ago..."

He was silenced by her seriousness.

"Commander Flynn, you have a lot more to lose than both Dutchy and I." She stepped even closer to him. "After all, you were the Lieutenant back then... The brass would say that you should have known better than to have a relationship with your student. So, I suggest you think carefully before saying anything to anybody."

She then emphasised her next words strongly. "Leave...Dutchy...Alone!"

Still furious of his threat, she turned around and made a beeline for the door. She had already opened the door when she heard his voice. "Kate?" She turned around and faced him one more time.

Seeing Kate turned her back on him made him realised that he just pushed her further away from him and to the arms of another man. He needed to fix this._ But how?_

"Am I too late?" He could only ask the question that he had been pondering since he woke up this morning.

Seeing the sadness in his eyes, she could feel her own tears developing at the back of her eyes.

She whispered sadly. "I don't know, Mike."

And with one last look at the man that still held part of her heart, she closed the door behind her.

Her lips then started to quiver, signalling to her that a sob was not too far away. She bit her bottom lip to prevent the sob from destroying the silence in the empty hallway. The truth was that she was afraid that once she started, she would never stop.

She started to walk in the direction of her cabin, but then she remembered her promise to Dylan.  
_  
I have to go back to him._

Few minutes later, for the second time that morning, she opened the door to the wardroom. She breathed a shaky sigh of relief that Dylan was back asleep. She sat on the chair once again and held his hand tightly.

Looking at Dylan's sleeping face; Mike's warning involuntarily came back to her mind. Tears started to well up in her eyes and a sob broke from her throat. Her hand then covered her mouth tightly, hoping that the sound would not wake him up.

_I'm sorry Dylan... I'm sorry that I drag you to this mess..._

* * *

_To be continued..._


	9. Chapter 9

**Fixing a Broken Wing - Chapter 9**

_**DK Lover:** I used to like Mike too... But that "coffee" conversation in season 4 made me angry with him Re his inability to put Kate as a priority... That's why this fic was born..._

_**Guest Reviewer:** Thank you!_

_A/N: This is the last chapter of this fic and will be set only few hours after the previous one... Stay tune for the sequel !_

* * *

Dylan slowly woke up from his slumber. He was surprised that the room wasn't as bright as he thought it would. _Did someone come here and turn off the overhead light?_ As his foggy mind became clearer, he then remembered that Kate was here at some point.

_Kate..._

He smiled remembering that night after the horse riding outing. They ended up on his couch sleeping on top of each other after watching few movies. That was easily the best night sleep he had for a while. Unfortunately, as the sky turned the shade of orange, reality came crashing down on them. They had to sail in 3 hours time. Few kisses and hugs later, she got out from his front door to go home. He missed her already at that point.

It was a struggle not to act differently during this patrol. He found that he felt even more protective of her. That was why he followed her to that warehouse even when she specifically told him not to. That was why he insisted to go with her when she proposed a diving trip. That was why he asked the CO to let him join the shore party even when he felt his wound was still tender. He sighed deeply. He knew that he was in big trouble right after he put her to sleep in Swain's house months ago. But nothing compared to the trouble he was in now. Not only he struggled not to touch her, but also struggled not to grin stupidly every time he looked at her. _You got it bad, Dylan..._

His head whipped around when he heard the doorknob turned. Half hoping it would be Kate on the other side of the door; he was a bit disappointed when Swain opened the door instead.

"Mate, how are you feeling?" Swain flicked the light switch and moved to check on Dylan's IV bag. Satisfied that the bag was almost empty, he turned off the drip and gently pulled out the needle from his arm.

"Like I've been knocked out for several hours."

Swain chuckled at his answer. "The painkillers knocked you out pretty good." He then looked at Dylan sternly. "Although that was necessary after you fainted yesterday."

"I'm fine." Dylan sighed deeply. He supposed that he kind of deserved Swain's look right now, but he couldn't bring himself to regret his decision to join the shore party. He would rather get hurt himself than letting Kate got hurt.

Swain only shook his head at Dylan's stubbornness. "You're free to go. You might want to freshen up and get some breakfast." He then looked at his watch. "We'll be at home port in 2 hours."

"Thanks mate." Dylan smiled gratefully while gingerly getting up to a sitting position. He cringed when his movement pulled his stiches a little bit.

"No worries." Swain said while giving him a new grey tee to wear. "Try not to get injured too often hey. I'm kind of sick of having you here." He patted Dylan's shoulder jokingly. "Although on a second thought, you were pretty funny when you were high on painkillers. So thank you for the entertainment."

Dylan raised his eyebrows. "Huh?"

Remembering what happened yesterday when the X was in the wardroom; Swain couldn't help but smile broadly.

"What did I do?" Dylan asked warily.

"It wasn't what you did, but what you said..." Swain had to stifle a laugh bubbling up in his throat. "Why don't you ask the X what you said yesterday?"

Dylan looked at Swain alarmingly._ Crap! Kate is going to kill me if I said something incriminating._

Seeing his pale face, Swain took pity on him and said soothingly, "Don't worry. I don't think she was offended at all. You were pretty out of it anyway. Just ask her."

Dylan huffed. "You are not helping, mate."

* * *

"Oi Dutchy... Pub?" Dylan heard Charge's booming voice in the empty corridor. Most sailors had already left for shore leave. But because he spent the whole night in the wardroom, he hadn't got a chance to do his paper works. That was why he got caught up.

"Maybe later. I have to give this report to the X and then I'm off to the hospital." He smiled at the older man.

"Alright then, take it easy mate... We'll be at the usual place if you decided to come by." Charge said while patting Dylan's shoulder as he walked passed.

"Thanks Charge..."

Dylan then continued his journey to Kate's cabin. Few minutes later, he raised his knuckles and knocked on her door. "Come in." He could hear her muffled voice from inside.

He opened the door to find her standing with her back facing the door on the side of her bunk, tidying the content of her sea bag lying on her bed. He smiled at the sight.

"X..."

Hearing his voice, she stopped her movement. But she didn't acknowledge him. Instead, after a few second of silence, she got back to her previous task, ignoring him.

He was puzzled by her behaviour. Then he remembered what Swain said to him before and he looked at her worriedly. _Maybe I did say something incriminating about us and now she's mad at me. _He then looked around for any sailors near the vicinity, but the corridor was empty and the ship seemed empty, so he went in to her cabin and closed the door behind him. He then put his sea bag on the floor and his report on her desk before carefully stepping behind her and hugged her waist to him.

"Kate..." He tried once more to get her to acknowledge him, while resting his chin on top of her head. "Is everything alright?"

Kate could feel tears developing at the back of her eyes again. She thought that all her tears had dried up when she left his bedside just after 5 am this morning. Apparently, she was wrong. This morning, it was easier to ignore her personal situation when she had a ship to bring home and a huge pile of paper works to finish. But now, engulfed in his arms, she could feel the weight of the situation and it was tearing her apart.

"I think that we shouldn't see each other anymore." She choked at her last word.

Dylan blanched. "Why?" He then turned her around and tilted her chin up so he could see her eyes. "Did I do or say something wrong?"

She shook her head. "No. Definitely not." Tears were now running freely on her cheek.

Seeing her tears, he slowly moved them towards her bed. After pushing her sea bag aside, he then sat down, pulled her to his lap and held her tightly. He stroked her back soothingly and kissed her temple repeatedly, willing the heart-breaking tears to stop.

"Kate, would you please just tell me what's going on?" He whispered softly to her ear.

She slowly lifted her head from his chest and looked into his eyes. "Bomber decided to transfer off from Hammersley."

He looked at her puzzled. "Okay... That's news for me and we are definitely going to miss her and her cooking, but how does her decision to transfer off affect us?"

"Because she was forced to make that decision." She took a deep breath. "Swain caught her and 2Dads kissing in the junior mess."

_Bomber and 2Dads? Seriously? _He then started to get an inkling of what her tears were about.

"If someone opened my cabin door right now, we would be in the same position as them." She cupped his cheek with the palm of her hand. "One of us had to leave the ship. Your reputation would be damaged. Not to mention that there would always be people whispering behind your back that you were with me just because you wanted to get a promotion. I don't want that happening to you. Maybe it would be best if we stopped this right now, before it got too far."

He kept his silence for a few minutes and then asked quietly. "Do you want to be with me? Because if you do, then I don't care about all of that, as long as you are with me."

"Dylan..." Her pupil widened at his question. "I..."

He could see that she still had that 'deer caught in the headlights' look on her face. _She's still not ready for my standing offer._

"Shh... It's OK. You don't have to answer that now." He kissed her softly, letting her know that she could take her time for that question.

He then looked at her seriously. "Kate... If one of us has to transfer off, I'll go."

Hearing his answer, tears welled up in her eyes again. "Just like that? You don't need time to think about it?" She looked at him in disbelief. "How could you just make a snap decision like that?"

He smiled softly at her. "Think of it logically. Firstly, there would always be more vacancy for my position compared to yours. Secondly, you have been serving in Hammersley for more than 3 years whereas I've only been here 6 months. Your level of attachment to this ship and its crews is a lot stronger than mine. It made more sense for me to transfer off compare to you."

When she still didn't respond to his rationale, he tried a different explanation. "Look, Kate. At the end of the day, I could be a buffer in any ship." He kissed her again before continuing. "But, there is only one Kate McGregor in the entire universe. If leaving Hammersley means that you and I could have more chances of being together, so be it."

At this very moment, Kate wanted so badly to say yes to his standing offer. She wanted to be with him. To be with a man that was willing to give her the world. But she knew that half of her heart was still in pieces right now. He deserved a lot more than that. That was why she didn't say anything in response. Instead, she just kissed him passionately, pouring all her feelings towards him in her kisses.

"So, are we good?" Dylan looked at her questioningly once they had caught their breaths back.

"Yes, we're good." She nodded.

"You owe me lunch though." He grinned at her.

She looked at him confused. "Why?"

"Because you scared me before." He tapped her nose playfully. "When you said you didn't want to see me anymore."

Her eyes softened at his statement. "Alright. Just pick the place."

He smiled at her quick agreement. "Now, as much I want to be sitting with you like this for a long time, I need to go to the hospital before I can officially start my shore leave. Care to accompany me?"

"Of course." She rolled her eyes. "God knows that somebody need to keep an eye on you, otherwise maybe you'll do a runner from the hospital."

"Hey! I've never done that..." He looked at her half amused and half offended.

"Really? Not even once?" she raised her eyebrows in disbelief.

He grinned. "Well, maybe once or twice."

She grinned back at him before she got up from his lap and reached for her sea bag again.

"I'll wait on the dock for you." He kissed her cheek briefly and then grabbed his sea bag. He was just about to open the door when she grabbed his hand.

"Let me open it. Just in case the corridor is not clear."

He nodded in agreement; grateful that she remembered.

She opened the door slowly and looked around the corridor. She breathed a sigh of relief that it was clear. "Go on. I'll see you later."

He squeezed her hand one more time before continuing his journey towards the dock.

* * *

After the Doctor released Dylan with clean bill of health and a warning to take it easy for next 3 days, he chose their usual pancakes' place for lunch. While they were sitting in their favourite restaurant, they discussed their plan for the rest of the day. Kate insisted that she would stay with him for the next 3 days, something about making sure he was resting. He tried to protest half-heartedly but she simply gave him her XO's glare. He smirked at her insistence. The truth was that he was glad that she offered. In his view, any excuse to spend more time with her would be a blessing.

Kate almost dozed off in the taxi on the way to his place. The event from the previous day, coupled with the lack of sleep this morning had drained her. All she wanted to do when she reached his place was to take a nap, preferably with him as her pillow. However, as she opened the fridge to get a cold drink, it turned out that he had nothing in the fridge that was edible for their future meals. Inspection of the pantry delivered the same result.

That was why she was now standing in one of the supermarket's aisle, looking at the different brand of can soups neatly stacked on the shelf. She tried to remember if Dylan had ever told her about his favourite brand. But after few minutes of racking her brain, she huffed. _Apparently he hadn't._ _Maybe it's time to play 20 questions again._

She started to regret sending him to the next isle a few minutes ago. But remembering the reason, she erased any regret from her brain. The infuriating man kept complaining that he wasn't an invalid and he should be the one who pushed the trolley, not her. _For God sake, didn't he understand that she just wanted to take care of him for a change?_ Managing to repress her anger, she asked him to be useful and got some eggs for her before they ended up having a public fight about a shopping trolley.

She decided to wait for him to come back from the next aisle to choose the soup himself. Instead, she moved to the pasta section. She was about to grab one of the spaghetti package when she heard a familiar voice.

"Kate?"

She froze. Slowly she turned around and came face to face with Mike.

He looked at her quizzically, sizing her trolley and its contents. She judged that whatever he saw in her trolley must not be to his liking, because his face hardened. The last thing she needed now was Dylan coming back from the other aisle. That would be a disaster.

Unfortunately, she heard another voice coming from behind her.

"Kate, for some reason they are running out of free-range eggs. So I got the normal one, is that OK?"

She sighed. She could feel the Man above was laughing at her current situation. _This is unbelievable!_

Dylan looked up from the carton of eggs he was currently holding when his question was greeted with silence. As he followed her line of sight and found the hardened face of his CO looking at them, he was instantly alarmed.

"Sir?" Dylan said carefully and waited for his CO's reply. However, even after a long silence, his CO still didn't say anything. At the end, he simply turned around and walked away.

Dylan looked at Kate with raised eyebrows. "What was that all about?"

She shrugged. To be honest, she was relieved that Mike had just walked away. God forbid that he opened his mouth and started a confrontation in the middle of the store. Her nerves were still very raw after their conversation this morning. Not to mention that Dylan was standing next to her. If he had any inkling of what was going on, then she would have to explain everything. She was simply not ready for that.

"Kate? Are you alright?" Dylan looked at her worriedly when she seemed to be deep in thought._ Does the CO suspect anything about us?_

She raised her eyes to meet his. "I'm okay." She smiled at him to abate his worry. Grabbing the carton of eggs from his hand and placing it in the trolley, she then looked at him questioningly. "Heinz or Campbell's?"

Deciding to put his worry to the back of his mind for the moment, he slowly grinned at her. "Heinz, please."

* * *

Dylan looked at his TV screen blankly. His mind couldn't stop thinking about their bizarre encounter with the CO earlier. He saw something in his CO's eyes this afternoon. At first, he thought it was suspicion. But if it was, why didn't he say something about it? It was within his right as their CO to investigate any possible deviation from fraternisation rule. The fact that Mike Flynn walked away from them added to his confusion. It was as if Mike Flynn couldn't stand to be near both him and Kate.

Then it clicked. _He is jealous. Mike Flynn is jealous of us._

Dylan started to sit up straighter. His arms around Kate, who sat next to him on the couch, involuntary tightened.

_Why? Why is he jealous? Were they involved somehow?_

His mind spiralled further. _Could he be the one who broke her heart?_ Anger instantly coursed through him at the thought.

"Kate?" he tried to control his rage. He needed to focus on the woman on his arms, not Mike Flynn.

When she only hummed as an answer, he looked at her and the TV respectively and found that she was engrossed in Sarah Connor's effort to escape from high-security mental hospital. He knew better than to interrupt now. So he waited until the heroine escaped safely before he kissed her temple and whispered her name to her ear. This time she looked up to him curiously.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Of course." Seeing his serious face, Kate reached for the remote and pressed the pause button.

He kept quiet for a moment to compose the question. But none of the sentences seemed right on his mind.

"Kate, I'll understand if you don't want answer my question..."

"Dylan, what is it?" Kate's curiousness was replaced by worry.

"It's about your ex." He said tentatively. She looked paler but didn't say anything, so he continued. "Was he in the Navy?" _Was he in Hammersley?_

Silence greeted his question. Dylan was about to said to her to forget it when she answered.

"Yes." Kate looked at him sadly. "He is in the Navy."

_Okay. That's a start. Is he Mike Flynn? _"Do I know him?"

Kate turned her head to the TV once more, wishing that she didn't stop the DVD before. She honestly didn't know what to say. _Tell him the truth, Kate!_

"Yes." She finally said. They fell silent once again. She could feel that his arms around her tightened, as if he had an inkling of who they were dealing with and he was preventing her from running back to Mike. She rested her head on his chest and put her arms around him to calm him down. But she could still feel that his muscles were strung tight. Refusing to let Mike once again destroying her chance to move on, she then moved to straddle Dylan's lap, put her arms around his neck, and looked into his eyes.

At first, Dylan was stunned by her move, but a certain part of his anatomy reminded him that he indeed had a beautiful woman sitting on his lap. His heart swelled at her gesture. He then lowered his lips and kissed her possessively. One of his hands tangled on her hair to deepen the kiss, while the other sneaked under her shirt to caress her soft skin on her back. He swallowed her soft groan at the contact. They continued kissing passionately, only stopping to catch their breath every once in a while. The movie was long forgotten.

Kate pulled away first. She rested her forehead to his while trying to return her breath to normal. She caressed his cheek softly.

"You tried to distract me from asking more questions, didn't you?" Dylan smiled at her knowingly.

She looked at him sheepishly. "Did it work?"

"You know it did." He grinned at her cheekily. "I bet you could feel it."

"Oh, shut up!" She blushed profusely while trying to glare at him unsuccessfully._ He's so infuriating sometimes._

For a while they didn't talk, they simply embraced each other tightly, cherishing the time they have together. Kate then lifted her head from his shoulder. "Dylan... About him..."

Dylan shook his head. "Kate, he can wait." He decided that all those questions could bugger off for now. Why should he care about a certain CO and his possible relationship with Kate while the woman in question was in his arms? It was obvious from Kate's reluctance to talk about him that whatever happened between them ended badly. He was not here to open the wound; he was here to help her heal it.

"Thank you..." She sighed, trying to find the next words to explain her situation further. "You know, sometimes you see a bird that was injured, its wings were damaged, either because of a collision with another bird, a tree or human cruelty. That injured bird is me. I'm still trying to fix my broken wings, Dylan. One of the wings was already healed because of you." She traced his lips with her thumb softly. "But the other one is still in pieces. I need both wings repaired to be able to fly again with you." She kissed him again before continuing. "I need more time."

Dylan cupped both of her cheeks with the palm of his hands. "That night on the beach, I told you I would wait until you are ready for my standing offer. That promise wouldn't change. Take as long as you need. I'm not going anywhere." His lips slowly formed a grin. "You wouldn't be able to get rid of me anyway. I'm really stubborn."

Kate rolled her eyes affectionately. Trust him to find humour in their situation.

He was about to start another kissing session when he remembered something. "Kate?"

"Yeah..."

"Apparently I said something to you when I was high on painkillers yesterday. Swain refused to say anything. He wanted me to ask you instead." He frowned. "Did I say something incriminating about us?"

She smiled at the memory. "You said that I'm an angel and an amazing woman."

Hearing her answer, he groaned. Apparently, his mouth had indeed spilled the beans. "I can't believe I said that in front of Swain." He shook his head amusedly. "No wonder the man looked so smug. Like he had some kind of leverage against me."

"You were high on painkillers. Your mind was forced to relax, hence your inability to filter what you said. But I'm sure he probably has heard them all. I bet he could write a book of the things we said when we were on painkillers under his care."

He smiled at her attempt to soothe his worry. "So... You're my angel huh?"

"Apparently..." Her lips involuntary curved upwards at his smile.

"Would you let me worship you then?"

The question hung in the air. The lust in his eyes and the husky whisper told Kate what he meant. She could only smile sadly at him in return. Kissing him softly, she then whispered her answer. "Raincheck?"

He chuckled. "You and your raincheck. Why am I not surprised?"

"Only until you heal properly." She reached to his side to gingerly touch the covered wound there, subtly reminding him that he needed to take it easy.

He took her hand from his side and kissed its knuckles softly. "Promise?"

"I promise."

* * *

_**FIN**_


End file.
